'Romanian gypsy ****!' - Corry Evans' wife in racist rant at ref, midfielder apologises

The 27-year-old conceded the spot-kick after Xherdan Shaqiri fired a volley against his upper arm from close range and his manager Michael O’Neill described the decision as ‘scandalous’ and ‘bewildering’.

Evans was also booked for the incident, meaning he will miss the second leg of the qualifier in Basel on Sunday.

After the match, a tweet from Lisa Evans, read: ‘“Romanian gypsy c***!!! And to actually think Northern Ireland has probably homed one of his smelly relatives!! Ungrateful t***!! Anyway onwards and upwards. #GAWA”

The tweet has now been deleted and her account was deactivated briefly but she then returned to post an apology.

“I would like to sincerely apologise to anyone I offended for the language contained in my tweet, I understand it was completely unacceptable, I should never have let my emotions take over. I would never condone racism in any way.”

Corry Evans had earlier said in a statement: “On behalf of my wife, I would like to apologise unreservedly for the content and language contained in the Tweet that she issued last night. The comments were published in the heat of the moment and are not representative of her views.”