Ulster Unionist Culture Arts & Leisure spokesperson Michael McGimpsey has accused the Sports Minister Caral Ni Chuilin of living in denial following answers she gave earlier this week at Stormont regarding Sandy Row Boxing Club.

 South Belfast representative Mr McGimpsey said:

 “At Assembly Questions this week I once again raised the issue of the treatment of Sandy Row Boxing Club and asked the Minister how the funding package for boxing that she referred to can go forward fairly at this time, given the Assembly's commitment to equality and fair treatment, bearing in mind the well-documented sectarian abuse of Sandy Row Amateur Boxing Club?” I also asked her if she agreed that the governing body of amateur boxing urgently needs to look at its own governance systems and get its house in order?

 The Minister’s response was sadly predictable. She did not agree that the Irish Amateur Boxing Association urgently needs to get its house in order nor that there has been well-documented, systematic abuse.

 She also stated that she had offered to meet me which is incorrect and then said that “clubs need to be affiliated in order to put in for moneys from the boxing strategy, and that remains the case.”

 The Minister is living in denial. She previously stated that she was “not aware that the IABA disaffiliated Sandy Row boxing club” in spite of the fact that the issue of disaffiliation was debated at Stormont and discussed by her officials with Sport NI!

 The bottom line is that Sandy Row Boxing Club was approved for child protection by the NSPCC. Other Boxing Clubs were not approved, yet unlike Sandy Row, these other clubs were not disaffiliated.

There is no doubt in my mind that Sandy Row Boxing Club has been victimised because it dared to speak out against the outrageous sectarian abuse  which the Club and its young boxers suffered, simply because they were Protestants.   

Once again we have laid bare the lie of Sinn Fein’s commitment to equality and fair treatment for all.”