The Department of Foreign Affairs has contacted authorities in Dubai about a boxing match organised by Daniel Kinahan.

It comes after WBC champion Tyson Fury thanked the 42-year-old for his role in organising two major fights against four-franchise champion Anthony Joshua.

Speaking in the Dáil this afternoon, Labour leader Alan Kelly noted that the Dubliner had been named in the High Court as a leader and founder of the Kinahan organised crime gang.

He said the judge had made a “very defining statement” in which he noted that the gang was involved in international drugs and weapons trafficking.

Main image: Leo Varadkar speaking in the Dáil this afternoon. Image: Oireachtas TV

The Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he was surprised when he saw the video.

“I was rather taken aback to see Tyson Fury on his video the other day just dropping in this name you mentioned as if this was not somebody who has quite a checkered history in this state and elsewhere,” he said.

“While I can’t comment on any particular garda operation, I can certainly assure you that there has been contact between the Department of Foreign Affairs and the authorities in the United Arab Emirates about that matter.”

Fury is managed by MTK Global, which was founded by Mr Kinahan and Matthew Macklin in 2012.

The company has since claimed Mr Kinahan has no direct involvement with it.

 

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It’s official FURY VS JOSUAR AGREED FOR NEXT YEAR, I got to smash @bronzebomber first then I’ll annihilate @anthonyjoshua #WEARESPARTANS MASSIVE THANKS TO DANIEL KINNERHAN FOR MAKING THIS HAPPEN.🙏🏻👍🏻 god bless @khksports @mtkglobal @toprank @frank_warren_official @btsport @espn @gypsykingofficialmerchandise @

A post shared by Tyson Fury (@gypsyking101) on Jun 10, 2020 at 7:53am PDT

Announcing the two-fight deal on Instagram yesterday, Fury said the Dubliner had ‘gotten this fight over the line.’

"I’m just after getting off the phone with Daniel Kinahan. He’s just informed me that the biggest fight in British boxing history has just been agreed,” he said.

“Big shout out to Dan. He got this done; literally over the line.”

Labour's Alan Kelly said the plans are a “disgrace.”

“A High Court judge has made a very defining statement in relation to Daniel Kinahan,” he said.

“I think the Government are going to have to act immediately in relation to this.

“We, as a country, cannot tolerate a situation where one of the largest, if not the largest sporting events in the world between these two boxers actually facilitates the whitewashing of such criminal activities.”

Should the fights go ahead, the two men are likely to meet for the first time in the summer of 2021.