Following his defeat to Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas, Conor McGregor was accused of "wrapping himself in an Irish flag as if it were a beach towel."
But it's not just McGregor who has been singled out for apparently disrespecting the tricolour - Irish fans have come in for criticism over the years for the way they use the flag at sporting events.
Kieran Cunningham, sports editor with the Irish Daily Star, says this is "a relatively recent phenomenon."
"It all started with Euro '88. If you go back before that, there were hardly any tricolours at all. People started writing on the tricolour, which you're not supposed to do."
"I think fans, when they go abroad for a sporting event, wear Irish soccer shirts. So they did seem to view this fight as Ireland versus the US, or Ireland against Mayweather."
Commentator Johnny Fallon says that when fans place something on the tricolour, it becomes "subordinate to whatever image or slogan you've put on it."
"The national flag has a meaning. It's not just a piece of cloth, it does symbolise something. The flag is a unifying symbol, and when you put an image or a sign on it, it's no longer a unifying symbol and it opens the door for people to put anything they like on it."
