James McClean warned by West Brom boss Tony Pulis to tone down anti-British behaviour
McClean was pictured with his back to the Union Flag as 'God Save The Queen' played during a pre-season friendly in the US
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.West Bromwich manager Tony Pulis has warned James McClean over his behaviour after the winger appeared to turn his back on the British national anthem.
The midfielder, who also opts against wear a remembrance poppy as it would "be a gesture of disrespect for the innocent people who lost their lives in the Troubles", drew a strong reaction on social media for the gesture - he was branded "scum" and told to go "back to Ireland" if he hated England so much after turning his back ahead of West Brom's match against the Charelston Battery (around 3min 25sec on the below video).
The 26-year-old was spoken to by Pulis after the game and warned over his future conduct - he has reportedly agreed to tone down overtly anti-British gestures.
As well as the reaction on social media, McClean also faced calls to leave England from Northern Irish Democratic Ulster Unionist MP Gregory Campbell.
"He should reconsider who his paymasters are or move elsewhere so there isn't a problem," Mr Campbell told the Belfast Telegraph
"He needs to keep his head down and play football, but what he shouldn't do while earning money from the UK is set himself up as a controversial pseudo-political figure, which is what he's doing."
McClean, who only joined the Baggies a month ago, took to Twitter with a brief response, posting a link to a Europsort article title 'In Defence of James McClean.
He said: "I don't need to say anything or will I either".
McClean opened the scoring as West Brom beat the Richmond Kickers 2-1 in their second pre-season game, Brown Ideye scoring a late winner.