Ireland have been claiming some scalps in the cricket World Cup to date, including Zimbabwe, who it seems were none too happy about the loss.
The state paper, The Herald, ran with a controversial headline reflecting on the loss, emblazoning "Alcoholic dumps Zim out of World Cup" as the title of the piece. According to The 42.ie, the article's author Robson Sharuko is one of the country's more controversial journalists, but even judging by those standards, the piece takes several swipes at Ireland's John Mooney, who Sharuko claims "sealed Zimbabwe's fate...with a shameless piece of fielding dishonesty that has soiled this global cricket showcase".
The catch by Mooney can be seen in the video below, and Sharuko claims that his foot clearly hits the boundary, but he didn't call it.
The article goes on to state the Mooney is "a recovering alcoholic, who was so depressed last year that he even contemplated killing himself" and that "for a man of such character, who has so much weighing down on his shoulders, it was very unlikely that in the defining moment of such a big game, he could be trusted to have the honesty, let alone the decency to admit that his foot touched the boundary".
The evidence that Sharuko uses to make his argument comes from an interview that Mooney did with Hugh Cahill on Game On on 2FM, in which he stated that a trauma in his past had lead to him turning to alcohol, and that "I never really dealt with those issues".
Cricket Ireland have issued a statement in relation to the article, which they believe represents a "vicious personal attack on John which cannot pass without comment, and possible action". Warren Deutrom, Chief Executive Cricket Ireland said: "John represents his country with honour, distinction and integrity. That he does in the face of personal challenges about which he has spoken openly and movingly demonstrates incredible hard work and great courage. We understand, as does John, that public figures may occasionally be subject to negative comment, but in mocking John in such a contemptuous fashion, and using his personal difficulties as a mere punchline, the Zimbabwe Herald has demonstrated breath-taking crassness and a gross error of editorial judgement."
They have added that they will be making no further comment on the issue, but that they have been in touch with the ICC to see what the next step should be in taking some form of action.
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Main pic via ICC
