Boxing champion Carl Frampton has issued a statement over the controversy surrounding a Belfast bonfire.
The 34-year-old, who grew up in Tiger's Bay, said he remembered collecting for the bonfire in that area as a child.
But he said attacks on neighbouring communities are "wrong and need to stop" and called for a peaceful Twelfth adding that "all cultures should be respected".
The bonfire has hit headlines ahead of the "Eleventh Night" this year after claims from residents in the nearby nationalist New Lodge that it has been built too close to the sensitive community interface.
Nationalist residents claim they are living in fear and have been attacked by missiles thrown by loyalist bonfire builders.
Last night, Sinn Fein Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey and SDLP Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon failed in a legal bid to force the PSNI to assist in removing the contentious bonfire.
The police declined to offer protection to removal contractors, citing concerns that their intervention could lead to disorder.
The ministers' bid to compel the police to act failed at emergency High Court proceedings on Friday.
Speaking about the headlines over the last week, Frampton said attacks on neighbouring communities are "wrong and need to stop".
He also said "what should be seen as a positive move forward is the fact that flags, effigies, posters etc have not been used".
In a statement on his Twitter account, Frampton said on Friday night that he remembered as a young boy, he enjoyed collecting, helping to build and watching the bonfire being lit in that area.
He said: "What should be, and has rightly been condemned, is attacks on neighbouring communities. They are wrong and need to stop. But what should be seen as a positive move forward is the fact that flags, effigies, posters etc have not been used. There isn’t a place for the burning of these things in today’s society.
"Whether you agree with it or not, the 11th July bonfires play a big part in a lot of people’s cultures and traditions here. All cultures should be respected and I hope that the 11th & 12th celebrations pass us without any trouble."
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