War of words between Limerick soccer club's fan group and its CEO

A BITTER row has broken out between the chief executive of Limerick senior soccer club Treaty United and its main supporters' group, the Blue Army.

Ciara McCormack, who is chief executive and co-owner of Treaty United, the first female to hold the role at a League of Ireland men's and women's club, claims she was "bullied" out of attending the men’s side's home defeat on Friday last against Wexford FC.

She has described some supporters as "unhinged".

At the game at Markets Field in the city, Ms McCormack was the focus of a protest, with banners unfurled by members of the crowd reading: 'McCormack Out: Team Not Regime'.

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An online video shows the group holding the banner, and those gathered around them, chanting: "We want Ciara out".

They also use an expletive while chanting about the chief executive who represented Treaty United and Ireland during her playing career.

Blue Army has rejected the Treaty United boss's claims and said: "What has actually happened here is Ciara has run things badly."

There is a feeling among some fans that their voices have been sidelined, with changes not communicated effectively.

Posting on LinkedIn - a business and employment-focused online professional platform - over the weekend, Ms McCormack, who hails from Canada, revealed that having been made aware of the demonstration, she decided against attending the game.

She claimed that during the course of the protest in the stadium, she was "verbally assaulted" by a large group of "people".

Ms McCormack referenced in her post how she had opted for the words "a large group of people" having initially written “men”, explaining: "Apparently, the abuse also came from women".

She also described some involved in the protest as "a pack of unhinged people", and questioned if they are really fans.

Posting a statement on X, the Blue Army described her comments as "false and disgusting", and added the protest was planned for the Wexford game due to the fact a Canadian investor was due to be in attendance.

Ms McCormack, who joined Treaty United in 2023, added: "It felt weird to be bullied out of a game that I spent the last few weeks working on, but at some point, you protect your mental health and figure things out later".

"What I've experienced over the last few months has been, at times, scary, hurtful and upsetting."

Her post added that since she took the reins at Markets Field, things have been done which have made its core fanbase unhappy.

"Concepts such as giving the women's team resources, and the same respect as the men, and taking a stand against the online abuse of our players," she wrote, adding: "Both have not been received well".

The Blue Army said it is "dangerous and downright horrible" to try and frame it as "men v women".

They pointed out there are female members of their fan group, and they were involved in "planning the setting up and the execution of the display on Friday".

The supporters' group added that its members have attended women's games last season, and were also at their first game of the current campaign.

They believe that more money should be put into the men's side as it is this which "will create revenue and drive the club forward".

The group claimed 3,000 people attended a men's match at Markets Field, with just 77 at a Treaty women's game.

"We think it's reasonable to expect what makes most business sense for the club to be put ahead of a chief executive's personal bias to one side," the group stated.

Ms McCormack wrote that a few months ago she told “leaders of our fan group the 'Blue Army' that I was cancelling a planned meeting as they were abusing one of our signings online”. This, she added, has given rise to "months of online abuse and slandering that's spilled into the stadium and been directed at me".

The fans’ group say this has been used by Ms McCormack as a reason why she "shouldn't work with us".

However, they have claimed they have evidence of her agreeing to meet them over the last week.

They've claimed the chief executive has run things badly.

"This is concerned fans who love their club against a chief executive doing a s***y job plain and simple," their statement concludes.

When contacted this Tuesday about the Blue Army’s comments, Ms McCormack, via email, stated that the club's response was: "There are many exciting things going on at Treaty United this year including our men’s team competitive and challenging in the top third of the First Division table, our women’s team joint top of the League of Ireland table, many exciting players, coaches and performances at the academy level, and new major sponsors coming on board weekly.

"We are a part of a passionate, competitive game - we appreciate our fan base, and know that we will not always see eye to eye - completely normal in any relationship.

"Everyone that comes to the Markets Field, our players and away players, fans, referees, administration and coaches have a right to a safe, respectful and abuse-free environment and it is our job to ensure that.

"Every little girl player in Limerick and the Mid West should know that their pathway and experience is as valued as the boys.

"It is good business practice to put resources into both the men’s and women’s game and have both teams be successful as we are witnessing this season. We believe it is not 'men v women' nor a zero sum game and that there are many passionate businesses and fans in the city that want to get behind both teams and see them succeed.

"We believe the best use of everyone’s time and energy is to focus on our common goal of having a positive, impactful, winning club and working together to show all the greatness Limerick and the Mid West is capable of. We will continue to work hard to build a club on and off the field, that everyone can be proud of."