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Wrexham stars Paul Mullin and James McClean have made a sick jibe about cancer-stricken King Charles as they party with their club’s owner in Las Vegas.
The footballers, who saw their team promoted to League One last month, posed for a photo which Mullin then posted on Instagram with the caption ‘And we hate the f***ing King!’
The comment was made just days after the King returned to public duties for the first time since he started undergoing treatment for cancer in February.
It also comes just weeks after Prince William visited the club’s Racecourse ground – with Charles himself meeting owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney in 2022.
Mullin and McClean are currently in Las Vegas with McElhenney and their teammates as they celebrate their promotion, although the remarks will bring fresh eyes to a duo who have a history of controversial comments.
Mullin, 29, who has become popular among fans of Disney docu-series ‘Welcome to Wrexham’, previously landed himself in hot water after leading fans in chanting ‘f*** the Tories‘ in a McDonald’s after the club’s promotion from non-league. He has also had his boots embroidered with the same words.
McClean, 35, has a long and well-publicised dislike of the monarchy, having turned his back on the English national anthem while playing for the Republic of Ireland and refusing to wear a poppy during games played across Remembrance weekend.
Wrexham’s Paul Mullin posted an image of himself with his Irish teammate James McClean with the caption ‘and we hate the f***ing king!’
This was then re-posted by McClean, who added he caption ‘we serve no king or kaiser but Ireland! Sue me’
Their club’s owners, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, met King Charles and Queen Camilla during a visit to Wrexham in December 2022
The jibe was made weeks after Prince William visited Wrexham and paid tribute to the work done in getting the club back into the Football League
The comments made on Instagram appear to have been a reference to an anti-monarchy chant which McClean admitted to singing after his side secured promotion last month.
A video emerged of McClean being serenaded by supporters by a song which features the line ‘he hates the f***ing King’, referencing his Republican stance. McClean himself joined in and appeared to be urging the crowd on.
Sharing a screenshot of Mail Sport’s story on social media, McClean commented: ‘Is this correct? Absolutely and I also sang at the top of my lungs.’
He added: ‘Do I make any apologies for doing so? Absolutely not.’
Wrexham declined to comment when contacted by Mail Sport.
It comes just a few weeks after Prince William visited Wrexham’s Racecourse Ground to meet staff and players and hear about the club’s staggering rise into the EFL.
The Prince of Wales also poured a pint and downed a whisky with McElhenney at The Turf pub next to Wrexham’s ground.
Speaking at Wrexham, William said: ‘It’s a great success story you’re building here, everything you’ve started and achieved it’s fantastic, so onwards and upwards – it’s exciting.
‘And anyone who’s a true football fan wants to see you do well.’
King Charles met the Hollywood duo on his own visit to Wrexham in December 2022, while Prince William met McElhenney, manager Phil Parkinson, plus players Ben Tozer and Luke Young on St David’s Day last month.
King Charles pictured with Ryan Reynolds during a visit to Wrexham AFC’s stadium the Racecourse in December 2022
Controversial Irish star McClean saluted Wrexham fans singing an anti-King chant last month
McClean doubled down in an Instagram post, saying he ‘sang along at the top of my lungs’
However, that visit did not go down well with Mullin, who is Wrexham’s star striker having scored 88 goals in 122 games for the club and hails from Merseyside.
Writing in his autobiography, ‘My Wrexham Story’, Mullin complained how the King’s visit to the club had disrupted preparations ahead of a big game.
He then wrote: ‘I’ll be straight: This visit might have been billed as a historic day for Wrexham, but it wasn’t for me. I’ve no interest in royalty.
‘I don’t see why anyone should have the God-given right to be born into such wealth, and then for us to pay for them as well. It just comes down to basic fairness.’
Mullin has made his political allegiances clear in the past, with the Sefton-born striker leading an X-rated chant about the Conservative Party after Wrexham’s promotion to League Two last year.
A video clip emerged of Mullin in a McDonald’s in Wrexham along with some of his team-mates singing ‘F***’ the Tories’.
Earlier in the season he shared photos earlier this season with made-to-order boots that had the same message stitched onto them.
The pictures were taken at Wrexham’s stadium, The Racecourse Ground, leaving the club unhappy, and they acted swiftly by ordering Mullin to delete them and retake them at a plain setting.
Paul Mullin was filmed singing ‘F*** the Tories’ after Wrexham’s promotion to League Two last year
Mullin was asked to delete pictures of his boots with the message ‘F*** the Tories’ last season
Paul Mullin, pictured here lifting the National League trophy, has previously landed himself in hot water for his political statements
The pair play for Wrexham, which is owned by Hollywood superstars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney (pictured)
Boot designers CustomsZebra were then asked by the player to delete their post of the original shots before later reposting with a new, plain background.
This was due to the club’s policy of taking a ‘neutral position’ when it comes to political matters.
Wrexham also insisted Mullin would not be allowed to wear the boots with the controversial message on them moving forward.
Mullin has previously opened up about his desire to be a good parent to his son, who has autism, revealing in an interview earlier this year he ‘struggled with the thought of not being good enough as a dad’.
But in the same interview with ITV he admitted he didn’t regret posting the controversial image of his anti-Tory football boots.
‘I don’t regret them at all, no. If people can kick off on the radio or the TV in the headlines about three words on the side of my boots, maybe they should use that energy to highlight the fact that there’s a lot of child poverty in the country and a lot of other bigger problems than a set of football boots,’ he said.
He added that the incident made him realise ‘people do care what I have to say’, and this inspired him to make boots about the topic of autism.
‘So then I used it for a greater point and something that I was a lot more passionate about personally because it’s got a personal touch to it about my son,’ Mullin said.
‘I made some football boots revolving around autism and trying to highlight awareness for that.
‘And, you know, that is something that I’m really passionate about and I talk about all the time. Politics isn’t my game, I don’t really want to get into that. It’s just not for me.’
Wrexham finished second in League Two this season to secure back-to-back promotions
McClean was celebrating with the Wrexham fans after they earned promotion at the weekend
McClean’s stance against the Royal Family is just one of several controversies around him
Rob McElhenney (left) joined Wrexham’s wild League One promotion party in Las Vegas
McClean, who is out of contract with Wrexham but has been offered a new deal by the club, has proven a more divisive figure in British football, with his anti-royal stance just one of many things that has sparked debate.
Whilst playing for Wigan Athletic, McClean called out the English FA for their failure to deal with anti-Irish abuse in the game after an incident at Blackpool.
The FA previously investigated fans singing anti-Pope and anti-IRA songs towards McClean on a number of occasions.
In September 2023, McClean admitted regrets about posting a controversial picture of himself in lockdown ‘jokingly’ home schooling his children in a balaclava, which was interpreted as a reference to the IRA.
For the post, which was subsequently removed, McClean was fined two weeks of wages by Stoke City – his club at the time in March 2020.
McClean came under fire for turning his back while the national anthem played before a friendly against West Brom in 2015.
The player has stated this is due to his affinity with Derry, and the role of the British Army in the Troubles and Bloody Sunday.
He has also been criticised for refusing to wear a poppy during games played across Remembrance weekend, a personal decision he made in 2012, but a stance which saw him booed for it a decade later.
He refuses to wear the poppy because the symbol commemorates military personnel who have died in war – and not just soldiers who lost their lives in the First and Second World Wars.
The Welsh outfit were treated to another holiday in Sin City by their Hollywood co-owners
Their players were given a heroes’ welcome as they headed to iconic nightclub Hakkasan
The pair and their teammates were joined in Las Vegas by their club’s co-owner McElhenney as they held wild promotion celebrations.
The team were treated to a lavish holiday in Sin City, Nevada, for the second season running by Hollywood superstars Ryan Reynolds and McElhenney.
The Welsh outfit sealed their spot in the third tier of English football for the first time in 19 years after finishing second – but agonisingly missed out on the title.
Shortly after the third season of the hit docuseries ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ dropped on streaming platforms, McElhenney and Reynolds again ensured their victorious players were treated like VIPs during their biggest party yet.
McElhenney himself entered the festivities with the ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ creator posing alongside McClean and George Evans for a photo.
Wasting little time after the end of the regular League Two season, Wrexham touched down in Vegas on Thursday and have been making the most of the trip.
Shortly after landing, winger Ryan Barnett posted a picture at TAO Asian Bistro while McClean documented much of the first day on his Instagram stories.
They then made a return to the iconic Hakkasan nightclub, the scene of last year’s boozy party following their historic promotion back to the Football League. A montage of highlights from this season played on the big screen in the venue.
American rapper Lil Jon performed on the night and Wrexham’s players were even afforded their own VIP area after being treated to a heroes’ welcome.
