Healy says sorry for his flute-playing act in front of Celtic fans

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The gesture is frowned upon by Celtic fans, who are drawn largely from the Catholic community.

Healy said on Ulster Television: 'I am supposed to be a role model and I can only apologise, I can guarantee from my point of view it will never happen again.'

Flute faux pas: Healy offends the Celtic fans

Healy said his action was a response to stick he was receiving from visiting fans at Craven Cottage. 'It was one of those regrettable incidents that somebody said something and I made a silly gesture, which ultimately I regret,' he said.

IFA chief executive Howard Wells is waiting to speak to Healy before making any judgment. Wells said: 'I put a call into David to speak to him. I'll speak to Roy Hodgson, the Fulham manager, to see his take on it and I shan't be jumping to any conclusions.'

A Fulham spokesman said: 'The team is in Korea for pre-season. The club is looking into the alleged incident.'

Healy's agent Stephen Hughes said the boyhood Rangers fan had made a jocular response after being asked what he was doing on July 12, when the Orange Order mark the Battle of the Boyne.

Blast from the past: Paul Gascoigne gets into trouble while playing for Rangers

The incident revived memories of a similar gesture by Paul Gascoigne in a goal celebration in a pre-season game in 1995. Gascoigne was fined by Rangers for repeating the actions as he warmed up at Celtic Park in 1998.

Healy was awarded an MBE this year for services to football and the community in Northern Ireland after scoring a record 13 goals during his country's bid to reach Euro 2008.

Last month he headed the largest coaching event to be held in the UK, the David Healy Fitba Day. More than 2,000 children and 64 coaches, including some from Celtic's community programme, took part in the event in County Tyrone.