Fulham and the Irish Football Association are looking into David Healy's flute-playing gesture during Saturday's friendly against Celtic.The Northern Ireland striker upset some Celtic fans by pretending to play a flute in an apparent mimic of an Orange band member.
Healy's agent claimed the player's actions were a "good-natured" response to stick he was receiving from some of the 11,000 visiting fans at Craven Cottage.
Pictures of the incident appeared on the front pages of some newspapers in Scotland though and have prompted debate in Northern Ireland.
IFA chief executive Howard Wells is waiting to speak to Healy before making any judgement.
"I put a call into David to speak to him," he said.
"I'll speak to Roy Hodgson, the Fulham manager, to see his take on it and I shan't be jumping to any conclusions."
Fulham are also making enquiries over the incident.
A club spokesman said: "The team is in Korea for pre-season. The club is looking into the alleged incident."
Healy's agent, Stephen Hughes, claimed the boyhood Rangers fan had made a jocular response after being asked what he was doing on July 12, when the Orange Order remember the Battle of the Boyne.
Hughes told the Daily Mail: "They were chanting 'Where were you on the 12th?', which is the day of the Orange marching bands in Belfast.
"So he simply pretended to play the flute - there was no attempt to inflame the fans.
"Afterwards, some of the fans who had been giving him stick sent over programmes for him to sign, which he did quite willingly."
The incident revived memories of a similar gesture by Paul Gascoigne as he warmed up at Celtic Park in 1998.
Gascoigne was fined by Rangers for repeating the actions he first used as a goal celebration in a pre-season game in 1995.
Healy was awarded an MBE earlier this year for services to football and the community in Northern Ireland after scoring a record 13 goals during his country's bid to reach Euro 2008.
Last month the 28-year-old headed the largest coaching event to be held in the UK, the David Healy Fitba Day.
More than 2,000 children and 64 coaches - including some from Celtic's community programme - took part in the event in County Tyrone.
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Comment 1 - 8 of 8
My god!!! Angela, read your statement back to yourself. After that cancel your internet subscription, move to Ulster and leave the inteligent people to use this forum where we make sensible statements. Just cause there are idiots that sing IRA songs does not mean it's OK for a proffesional football player to act like an idiot. He should be someone the younger generation can look up to, not a Bigot. If you really believe in your statements, you need to be locked up from society.
why should we change our heritage just because someone was playing the flute.
let him get on with it, celtic supporters sing there songs and get away with it.
its like taking wrights pies and cheesy bacon oatcakes away from stoke-on-trent and north staffordshire.
If its Robert Kyle from Port Glasgow dont take offence the laddie's no all there God Bless Him,the whole family are all the same.
Get rid of him. I want to see Andy Johnson who actually is a quality striker
Robert, you really are thick. I am sure your kids will be proud their dad is an idiot who will rot in hell. I am ashamed to be associated by religion. You give the good protestants a bad name.
why should orange walks be banned, its part of away of life for the proud people of ulster and other parts of britain and you want to stop tradition.
open ur eyes and ears hes a bigot all walks should be banned and anything to do with them its 2008 not 1690 idiots
why do people who mimic orange flute players always get slated by the public. and always celtic supporters, when they sing IRA songs at matches nobody writes or mones about them in any papers
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