Jake Mulraney has revealed his pregnant partner was verbally abused in the Tynecastle stand during Hearts’ 2-1 win over Aberdeen.
The Irish winger says his girlfriend Aoife McDonagh was shocked to be on the receiving end of a tirade in yet another incident of unacceptable fan behaviour.
Former Inverness player Mulraney, who learned about the incident after the Premiership clash last weekend, was furious but later joked the offender was lucky his other half is four months’ pregnant – because that’s all that would have stopped her from having a go back.
The 22-year-old said: “It is something that comes with football and it wasn’t a massive issue but the fact my girlfriend is pregnant, that got my back up.
“After an hour or so, I calmed down. As long as she is all right, that’s all that really bothers me. She is quite sensitive and not really used to it.
“She was used to coming to Inverness and there’s maybe 1000 or 2000 at a game. Here, there’s 18,000 people screaming. She comes from an area where, if someone says something, her back usually goes up and she is used to speaking up and defending herself.
“So it is hard for her to hear that and not say something back. She can give as good as she gets and I was only worried because she is pregnant.”
Despite his anger over the unsavoury incident Mulraney knows the offender is in the minority.
He said: “We both spoke about it. If one person says something stupid, we can’t really hold that against all the fans. I know not all the fans are like that.
“I’d say it is only a small per cent like that. I get stick all the time and that comes with football. Personally, I don’t care but when it involves her it’s different.
“I don’t think it has put her off coming to games but she’ll maybe just wear ear plugs from now on!”
