• ‘On behalf of my wife, I would like to apologise unreservedly’ • Uefa backs official despite penalty controversy

Corry Evans has issued an unreserved apology for his wife’s racist rant at Ovidiu Hategan after the Romanian referee gave a controversial penalty against the Northern Ireland international.

‘Disgraceful’ Switzerland penalty puts Northern Ireland behind in play-off Read more

Lisa Evans abused the match official in an expletive-laden tweet after he penalised her husband for handball in the World Cup play-off defeat by Switzerland. Hategan’s decision to book the Blackburn Rovers midfielder means he is suspended for Sunday’s second leg in Basel.

A tweet from Evans’s account said: “Romanian gypsy cunt!!! And to actually think Northern Ireland has probably homed one of his smelly relatives!! Ungrateful twat!! Anyway onwards and upwards. #GAWA”. Evans’s tweet has been deleted and her account was briefly deactivated before she reappeared on Twitter to issue an apology of her own.

“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.”

Play Video 1:21 Northern Ireland's Michael O'Neill says penalty decision was 'staggering' – video

Earlier, in a statement issued through the Irish Football Association, Evans said: “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.”

Despite his suspension Evans has travelled to Switzerland with the squad for the return game. Michael O’Neill, the Northern Ireland manager, described the penalty against Evans as the worst decision he has witnessed during his international career.

Uefa has confirmed it will not take action against Hategan, despite having an assessor at Windsor Park.