A youth football coach in Belfast has been permanently removed from his club after posting an apparent menu of cocaine prices in a WhatsApp group chat for a local league. The list, which was posted on Wednesday and later deleted, included detailed times, meeting locations, and prices for what it described as 'proper pure bags', specifying cash payment.
The Belfast club confirmed it had taken immediate action, stating that the coach had been expelled with immediate effect. 'This type of behaviour is completely unacceptable within our club,' the club said, adding that its vetting procedures followed Irish Football Association guidelines. The club described the post as shocking and said it was being treated with urgency.
The WhatsApp group is reportedly used by around 400 coaches from 300 grassroots teams to arrange match fixtures for the FonaCab Development League. The league acknowledged it could not monitor every message but said it has clear expectations of behaviour, with any breach of safeguarding or professionalism addressed immediately. 'Our responsibility is to protect the wellbeing of every child,' a league spokesperson said.
The league told the Belfast Telegraph that it does not employ coaches and therefore could not sack anyone, but confirmed that safeguarding procedures had been activated and the coach had been removed from the fixtures group. The matter is now being dealt with through appropriate channels.
According to the Northern Ireland health department's substance misuse database, almost half (46.4%) of people in the region who consume illegal drugs use cocaine.
