{"id":119876,"date":"2025-09-07T02:15:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-07T02:15:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/119876\/"},"modified":"2025-09-07T02:15:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-07T02:15:12","slug":"ofcom-contacted-after-crowds-pro-ira-chanting-heard-on-tv-broadcast-of-conlan-bateson-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/119876\/","title":{"rendered":"Ofcom contacted after crowd\u2019s pro-IRA chanting heard on TV broadcast of Conlan-Bateson fight"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Belfast boxer beat Jack Bateson at the 3Arena in a bout that was televised by Channel 5.<\/p>\n

The 33-year-old stopped his opponent with 10 seconds remaining in the fourth round to claim the vacant WBC International featherweight title.<\/p>\n

However, as the programme wrapped up, some of the crowd was heard chanting \u2018Up the \u2018Ra\u2019 in the background.<\/p>\n

TUV councillor Christopher Jamieson said he has lodged a formal complaint with Ofcom, citing criticism the BBC received after broadcasting a controversial set at Glastonbury earlier this year.<\/p>\n

His letter states: “After the conclusion of the fight the crowd loudly and repeatedly chanted \u2018Up the \u2018Ra’, an explicit glorification of the Provisional IRA. This chant was clearly audible to viewers and was carried live and unchallenged by Channel 5.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe IRA was responsible for a 30 year campaign of terrorism which claimed the lives of men, women and children across the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor a national UK broadcaster to beam such chanting into homes without challenge is profoundly offensive to the many innocent victims of IRA violence, as well as to the wider public who rightly expect adherence to broadcasting standards.\u201d<\/p>\n

The chanting happened in the final stages of the two and a half hour broadcast.<\/p>\n

As the pundits discussed Conlan\u2019s win, a camera panned the crowd, as some fans joined along in the Wolfe Tones\u2019 Celtic Symphony.<\/p>\n

It lingered as some joined in the \u2018Up the \u2018Ra\u2019 chant.<\/p>\n

Section three of the Ofcom Broadcasting Code states that broadcasters have a duty to ensure that material likely to incite or glorify violence, or which may cause offence, is appropriately handled.<\/p>\n

\"Michael<\/p>\n

Michael Conlan during his bout against Jack Bateson. David Fitzgerald\/Sportsfile<\/p>\n

Mr Jamieson said: \u201cIt is my contention that Channel 5 failed in this duty by transmitting this chant without editorial control, warning, or condemnation.\u201d<\/p>\n

He cited controversy involving the BBC in June, when it broadcast a Glastonbury performance by Bob Vylan in which the crowd was led in chanting \u2018Death, death to the IDF\u2019 – a reference to the Israeli Defense Forces.<\/p>\n

The BBC later admitted it should have pulled the livestream sooner and apologised.<\/p>\n

Mr Jamieson has asked Ofcom to investigate Channel 5\u2019s broadcast, clarify what steps the broadcaster took to prevent or mitigate the broadcast of the chant, and ensure that appropriate sanctions and guidance are applied to prevent a repeat.<\/p>\n

\"Michael<\/p>\n

Michael Conlan celebrates after winning his vacant WBC International Featherweight title bout against Jack Bateson at the 3 Arena in Dublin. David Fitzgerald\/Sportsfile<\/p>\n

Watch: Aoibhinn Irish Naval ship arrives in Belfast <\/p>\n

\u201cIf Ofcom and Channel 5 are prepared to act swiftly in cases such as Glastonbury, there can be no excuse for failing to act here,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Channel 5 has been contacted for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Belfast boxer beat Jack Bateson at the 3Arena in a bout that was televised by Channel 5.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":119877,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[2560,33689,48733,101,57218,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-119876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-boxing","tag-ira","tag-michael-conlan","tag-sports","tag-traditional-unionist-voice","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119876"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119876\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/119877"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}