Organisers of the festival initially claimed that the band’s set was cut short for using a chant “widely understood to have a discriminatory context”. The Mary Wallopers denied the claim, asked for the festival to retract its “misleading” statement and shared footage of the moment on Instagram.

Irish folk band The Mary Wallopers say they were muted at a music festival in Portsmouth, England on Friday for displaying a Palestinian flag during their set, something denied by organizers.

The Mary Wallopers had their set at Victorious Festival cut short after the Irish folk band displayed a Palestinian flag and chanted "Free Palestine". Festival organisers initially claimed the band used a "discriminatory chant" but later issued a second statement apologising for mishandling the situation.