Conor McGregor’s father hit back at Volodymyr Zelensky after the Ukrainian president criticized the former champion for meeting with Vladimir Putin.
Tony McGregor posted a photo on Instagram of Zelensky seated at a table alongside French president Emmanuel Macron, former German chancellor Angela Merkel, and Putin, along with the caption, “Zelensky, fight your war and keep my son’s name out yo f*****g mouth.”
McGregor’s explicit rant occurred shortly after Irish media reported that Zelensky was unhappy with McGregor posing alongside Putin during the 2018 World Cup in Moscow. Zelensky informed an Irish delegation visiting Kyiv last week that he was once a fan of the former two-division UFC champion but changed his opinion after McGregor met Putin.
“He felt he wasn’t being supportive of Ukraine,” Seanad Cathaoirleach Mark Daly said. “This man is fighting a war but he knows what’s going on all around the world, including in Ireland.”
McGregor’s meeting with Putin took place during the 2018 World Cup final between France and Croatia, which took place in Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium. McGregor tweeted a photo of himself with his arm around Putin and revealed that he had been invited as a guest of the Russian president.
“This man is one of the greatest leaders of our time,” McGregor said of Putin on social media, following France’s 4-2 win. “I was honoured to attend such a landmark event alongside him.”
McGregor ended his social media post with a Cyrillic phrase that translates to “Go, Russia.” A little more than a year later, McGregor returned to Russia to promote his Proper Twelve Irish whiskey brand. During the press conference, the Irishman revealed that he gifted Putin the “very first bottle” of Proper Twelve during the World Cup, though he was unable to have a drink with the Russian president because his security team confiscated the bottle to have it tested for toxic ingredients.
McGregor’s father has since posted pictures of Putin alongside famous individuals such as U.S. President Joe Biden.
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