Stockport County fans made their feelings on James McClean clear during and after their club’s clash with rivals Wrexham over the weekend.
While promotion rivals Wycombe Wanderers had the weekend off, Wrexham were once again playing at the Racecourse Ground.
The Red Dragons’ home form in 2025 has been questionable, but they really could have done with a win against Stockport County.
Wrexham and Wycombe had played the same number of games prior to the former kicking off, meaning the Chairboys were once again owed a game in hand after Saturday.
And with Mike Dodds’ men already on the same number of points with a better goal difference, any form of slipup from Phil Parkinson and co. wouldn’t have been ideal.
- READ MORE: Wrexham fans react to Phil Parkinson’s Paul Mullin decision vs Stockport County, demand issued
Stockport County furious with Wrexham star James McClean
Stockport had the better of the game early on but it was Wrexham who took the lead with 29 minutes on the clock.
The Red Dragons won a penalty, which Jay Rodriguez stepped up to miss but converted the rebound.
Initially, the referee did not award the penalty but after James McClean had been speaking to the linesman, he called the ref over who then gave the spot-kick.
As a result, Stockport fans have been left furious at the wing-back on social media, baffled at why the penalty was given.
One fan wrote: “Genuinely the worst penalty I have ever seen given. And how is that McClean still on the pitch? —– cheating Disney. Ref wants to be on telly.”
A second claimed: “I’ve never hated somebody as much as I hate James McClean.”
Another questioned: “Linesman gives a corner. McClean abuses linesman. Linesman changes his mind and gives a penalty. Make it make sense?!”
While a fourth Stockport fan added: “McClean reffing the game it would seem.”
“League One officiating is a disgrace. Penalty not given, then the Lino’s bottled it because that little cry baby McClean bullied him into overturning it,” a fifth stated.
Another wrote: “James McClean is the biggest cheater going.”
And a seventh questioned: “So you think that the linesman taking 2 minutes to give that was the right call? Because McClean has given him a —- tonne of abuse he’s —- himself and given it?”
What are the handball rules?
Minutes before their actual penalty, Sam Smith had his arm dragged in the box and it seemed to be a clear foul but nothing was given.
The spot-kick Wrexham actually got may have been somewhat questionable given the Stockport player was facing the other way when the ball hit his hands.
The rules on handball, as per the FA, are as follows:
“For the purposes of determining handball offences, the upper boundary of the arm is in line with the bottom of the armpit. Not every touch of a player’s hand/arm with the ball is an offence.”
It is an offence if a player:
- Deliberately touches the ball with their hand/arm, for example moving the hand/arm towards the ball
- Touches the ball with their hand/arm when it has made their body unnaturally bigger. A player is considered to have made their body unnaturally bigger when the position of their hand/arm is not a consequence of, or justifiable by, the player’s body movement for that specific situation. By having their hand/arm in such a position, the player takes a risk of their hand/arm being hit by the ball and being penalised.
‘A player is considered to have made their body unnaturally bigger when the position of their hand/arm is not a consequence of, or justifiable by, the player’s body movement for that specific situation’ is perhaps the most relevant piece of information regarding the Wrexham penalty.
The Stockport player clearly made his body bigger but was that only because he was pushed in the back by McClean?