GAA approve FAI and IRFU applications [Archive]

Superhoops

21/07/2007, 3:31 PM

From rte.ie:

At its meeting today the Central Council of the GAA provisionally approved an application from the FAI and IRFU respectively to play two friendly/ranking games each in Croke Park in 2008.

The Central Council's decision is contingent on agreement being reached with the respective governing bodies on terms and dates.

The competitive games already approved for 2008 are on February 2nd, February 23rd and March 8th (rugby) and October 11th and 15th (soccer).

Will be interesting to see if this materialises. If it does, hopefully the FAI will get two big name opponents and get decent crowds. What about Italy, England or Argentina?

eirebhoy

21/07/2007, 3:32 PM

No chance of England. :D

gufcfan

21/07/2007, 4:35 PM

No chance of England. :D

I think the english and irish fa's would wish to avoid playing each other as it could well turn into a headache security wise. while i would like to see it i wouldnt hold out any hope of us beating them

Mayo_Bhoy

21/07/2007, 5:34 PM

What about Italy, England or Argentina?

Jaysus, waht planet are you from???:rolleyes:

GavinZac

21/07/2007, 5:37 PM

Yeah as if England would ever play in Croke Park!

Which one is the sarcastic smilie?

DmanDmythDledge

21/07/2007, 11:09 PM

Would the GAA get all the gate receipts, TV money etc or just a percentage of it?

HolylandsMan

21/07/2007, 11:17 PM

Would assume the arrangements would be similar to the qualifiers. Think the rental was somewhere in the region of €1.25 million or 27% of the revenue, whichever is greater. Open to correction on the exact figures though.

gspain

21/07/2007, 11:48 PM

The only viable option would be a big name as per the GAA's cash guarantee. The FAI would need a guaranteed sellout.

I don't see why the English football team would be such an issue now for GAA hardliners given the rugby team have already played there.

Anyway as I've said before the big issue for the GAA would not be England at Croke Park but Northern Ireland. GSTQ might be a much bigger issue then.

Emmet

22/07/2007, 9:02 AM

I can only see us playing England next in a competitive fixture that neither team can get out of ... I don't think the Croke Park issue has any bearing on this - there will be a lot of people in the English FA and in the FAI who remember 1995.

Torn-Ado

22/07/2007, 11:27 AM

Yeah as if England would ever play in Croke Park!

Which one is the sarcastic smilie?

Huge difference between Rugby and Football.

Torn-Ado

22/07/2007, 11:32 AM

I don't see why the English football team would be such an issue now for GAA hardliners given the rugby team have already played there.

Like I said already, comparing the English Rugby team with their educated, jolly, friendly supporters to the English football team and their violent, Racist, knuckledraggers, is simply not viable.

gspain

22/07/2007, 12:03 PM

Like I said already, comparing the English Rugby team with their educated, jolly, friendly supporters to the English football team and their violent, Racist, knuckledraggers, is simply not viable.

Actually English football supporters are much better behaved these days. They have a proper travel club, good organisation and have reclaimed their national team. I' attended 2 England games in the last world cup and 1 in 2002 wearing an Ireland shirt without any problems whatsoever. It was a totally different experience to the dark days of the 90's.

Torn-Ado

22/07/2007, 12:15 PM

Actually English football supporters are much better behaved these days. They have a proper travel club, good organisation and have reclaimed their national team. I' attended 2 England games in the last world cup and 1 in 2002 wearing an Ireland shirt without any problems whatsoever. It was a totally different experience to the dark days of the 90's.

There has been a crackdown on a lot of hooligans getting into stadia etc so they usually kick off elsewhere in the city. Panorama did a documentary on them in last years world cup and they were the same old supporters we are all used to seeing. However I'm sure you're not naive enough to think that English fans have changed altogether.

With security getting into Ireland from Britain being non existent and the general incompetence of the FAI, there surely would be a lot of trouble. With all the hype about foreign sports etc, these guys would make it their mission in life to wreck Croke park and cause mayhem.

viagogo

22/07/2007, 1:27 PM

Back of The Star today says the FAI will go for the game against England. They surely cant be this stupid. This talk about their fans behaviour getting better is rubbish. When we talked to anybody in Stuttgart when we played Germany last year they had nothing good to say about them. Panorama programme last year I thought would surely put the FAI off.

geysir

22/07/2007, 2:28 PM

The main significance is that Croke pk. subject to terms, is open for hire for friendlies. That marks a change even if the Central Council was given the power to authorise the renting of Croke Park for events other than those controlled by the Association, while Lansdowne Rd. is closed.
There were some grounds to believe that the GAA CC were only interested to consider competitive games.
The main movers would appear to be the IRFU who already have the ALL Blacks lined up.
I doubt that the FA would be keen on "friendlies" with Ireland or Scotland for the same reason.
Northern Ireland, imo, could be ideal.

FAI statement "Friendly matches count towards our FIFA ranking, so the opportunity to have two additional home games in 2008 in Croke Park is very welcome."
and what does the FIFA ranking count for? feck all it would appear.
Friendlies, first and foremost should be used to advance the teams competitive standard and then secondly for financial gain.

gspain

22/07/2007, 3:05 PM

Torn-Ado

22/07/2007, 4:27 PM

I didn't see the Panorama programme so can't comment on the content.

However I have experienced England fans firsthand on many occasions over the last 29 years since they came to Lansdowne in 1978. There is absolutely no comparison between the racist thugs of the 1990s with the generally well behaved fans of today.

The hooligans by and large have been weeded out and the decent football fans who abandoned their country in droves in the 80's and 90's have reclaimed their team. Full credit to the FSA for what they've done.

The difference is that the decent fans are ones who get the tickets to the games. Its too dangerous for hooligans to cause trouble in stadia. They do it in the city centre like Stuttgart.

The fact of the matter is that a friendly game between Ireland and England is not, and for the near future, will not be on the cards.

GavinZac

22/07/2007, 8:05 PM

The fact of the matter is that a friendly game between Ireland and England is not, and for the near future, will not be on the cards.Right so, John.

co. down green

22/07/2007, 8:39 PM

Actually English football supporters are much better behaved these days. They have a proper travel club, good organisation and have reclaimed their national team. I' attended 2 England games in the last world cup and 1 in 2002 wearing an Ireland shirt without any problems whatsoever. It was a totally different experience to the dark days of the 90's.

The English hooligans obtained their tickets through the official England Travel Club in 95 according to the investigation.

gspain

We were on the North terrace that evening, there were a couple of hundred England fans in a small segregated section at the end of terrace, any ideas if they had tickets or did the guards just take them off the streets.

I've always wondered.

geysir

22/07/2007, 10:30 PM

It's okay CDG, that's in the past, now we are told they are better behaved.
Therefore this can't be true.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/5112364.stm
Erwin Hetger, head of the state police, said: "We had no problems at all with the French, Swiss and Dutch fans that were having a great party here.
"It all changed when the English fans arrived. The atmosphere changed. The incidents began late yesterday evening."
Estimated 300 English fans were arrested in Stuttgart.
Over 400 were detained after troubles another night.
Guess estimates were that a few thousand were involved in violence in Germany, about the same number again wouldn't go no furthur than singing "I'd rather be a paki than a kraut".
Maybe here they would rather be a kraut than a paddy.

Certainly they looked lovely in that game against Andorra.

Then we have the dastardly victimisation against English fans by the Greek police, the Spanish police, the French police, the Italian police and now the Croat police.
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/SPORT/football/10/25/uefa.charges/index.html

sylvo

22/07/2007, 10:49 PM

They've changed all right, thats why the German police where rounding them up by the hundred. The clips of German women in Stuttgart having beer poured over their heads on that Panorama documentry by the so called new nicer breed of England fan was sickning, not to mention fans of any team having flags robbed of them and a few punches and kicks aimed at them.

Fair play too the makers of that Panorama documentry because they showed up the bullsh1t that they where so well behaved in Germany. Sky tv where going on about them being changed and where then giving the arrest count from the night before that went up into the hundreds.

Have them over here for a game.

NO THANKS.

paul_oshea

23/07/2007, 8:32 AM

gspain

23/07/2007, 8:47 AM

Not trying in anyway to condone what went on in 95. My Dad was in the middle of them. He was one of the 1,000 people that didn't get sold a ticket for the English end on the morning of the game .

I wasn't aware of the group on the north terrace that night. I thought they were all in the west upper Block A and maybe B. They may have just bought from a tout.

I'm not claiming the England fans are angels now but there has been a massive improvement in behaviour. Huge efforts have gone in to reclaim the national team from the yobs. I've witnessed england supporters firsthand and notivced a huge change.

I think they may well come here next year if not certainly soon after Lansdowne is open for a friendly. And why not we owe them the thrashing they were going to get in 1995 before the yobs got the game abandoned.

In reality there are very few teams that make a Croke Park friendly financially viable.

CJTheGull

23/07/2007, 8:49 AM

I am a block-booker for all the home Ireland games but I have to say friendlies are non-events for me. Could be a friendly against Brazil but give me a competitive match against someone like Andorra any day! (They'd probably snatch a draw against us) :rolleyes:

CJTheGull

23/07/2007, 9:17 AM

Saw on a GAA website that it's pretty much certain now that the All-Blacks will play a friendly at Croker too.

Stuttgart88

23/07/2007, 9:37 AM

I wasn't aware of the group on the north terrace that night. I thought they were all in the west upper Block A and maybe B. They may have just bought from a tout.

They were in a block of the North Terrace over at the side, near the dart line and overlooking the pavilion.They were fenced in so it must have been planned. Several hundred I think.

I was about 10 yards away from them. Lucky it wasn't 20 as the bottles that flew over my head may actually have landed on it otherwise.

I agree that their fans have improved though I still hate the way they sing their own anthem with arms aloft like it's a battle anthem, their WW2 songs, the totally dumb and racist undertoned "English 'till I die" and their generally threatening demeanour. I was at England vs Sweden in Cologne. Great atmosphere no doubt, but one set of fans stood out head & shoulders for me - the Swedes.

I'd say England's better behaviour in or near grounds is also down to the very large number of corporate fans attending on paid-for day trips. There are now thousands of these.

No comment on their city centre behaviour, but nothing would surprise me.

I have no wish whatsoever to see England at Croker. I think it'd attract the worst of their support and the worst of ours as well.

eirebhoy

23/07/2007, 10:08 AM

Argentina would be my first choice by a distance. Maybe Spain too. The rest of the top teams we've played recently enough.

GavinZac

23/07/2007, 11:48 AM

the totally dumb and racist undertoned "English 'till I die"

you've got to be kidding me.

osarusan

23/07/2007, 11:56 AM

I still hate the way they sing their own anthem with arms aloft like it's a battle anthem, their WW2 songs, the totally dumb and racist undertoned "English 'till I die" and their generally threatening demeanour.
As opposed to our anthem, which IS a battle anthem, directed at, ahem, foreign invaders.
English til I die - where are the racist undertones?
Is it any worse than "Harps til I die", or "Bohs til I die", :Limerick til I die" etc?
As I see it, it is just a pledge of support to your team, nothing more.

Stuttgart88

23/07/2007, 12:06 PM

We respect our own anthem though, they raise their arms aloft in a moronic manner that I'm sure the old head of state herself wouldn't appreciate.

We've been through the "till I die" thing before. Almost all agreed here that it was dumb. You can change your club, but not your national allegiance.

The song is sung at BNP rallies & the like. Not all here agreed with me but for me it's pretty clear.

I'd be horrified to hear Irish fans singing the same.

paul_oshea

23/07/2007, 12:06 PM

English til I die - where are the racist undertones?

its not the lyrics he is refering to here osarusan. You don't even need to ask that.....or at least you shouldn't.

Wolfie

23/07/2007, 1:15 PM

They were in a block of the North Terrace over at the side, near the dart line and overlooking the pavilion.They were fenced in so it must have been planned. Several hundred I think.

I was about 10 yards away from them. Lucky it wasn't 20 as the bottles that flew over my head may actually have landed on it otherwise.

I agree that their fans have improved though I still hate the way they sing their own anthem with arms aloft like it's a battle anthem, their WW2 songs, the totally dumb and racist undertoned "English 'till I die" and their generally threatening demeanour. I was at England vs Sweden in Cologne. Great atmosphere no doubt, but one set of fans stood out head & shoulders for me - the Swedes.

I'd say England's better behaviour in or near grounds is also down to the very large number of corporate fans attending on paid-for day trips. There are now thousands of these.

No comment on their city centre behaviour, but nothing would surprise me.

I have no wish whatsoever to see England at Croker. I think it'd attract the worst of their support and the worst of ours as well.

There was a block of them on the North Terrace alright. I was on the North Terrace accompanied by my brother who was 9 years old at the time.

We always say I should have shoved him out onto the pitch and said "Look scared for the TV cameras!!!" :D

You might remember there was a traumatised kid shown on the pitch on Sky Tv that got free trips to Premier League games, jersey's etc.

On the songs / chants issue - What about Englands tender love ballad "NO SURRENDER TO THE IRA?".

That dirge is directed at every single of us, as if we, as a collective people, condone the bombing of innocent women and children in Britain. Maybe a misguided minority do - but not me.

Torn-Ado

23/07/2007, 3:02 PM

Right so, John.

Be a smartarse all you want but its the truth. The FAI, FA and Gardai are not going to put such a game into fruition unless it is neccessary.

GavinZac

23/07/2007, 3:10 PM

Be a smartarse all you want but its the truth. The FAI, FA and Gardai are not going to put such a game into fruition unless it is neccessary.

Go on...

say it...

"FACT!"

Torn-Ado

23/07/2007, 3:11 PM

Go on...

say it...

"FACT!"

I won't but you know I'm right.

Jerry The Saint

23/07/2007, 3:17 PM

You can change your club, but not your national allegiance.

Interesting comment...

gspain

23/07/2007, 3:19 PM

On the songs / chants issue - What about Englands tender love ballad "NO SURRENDER TO THE IRA?".

I actually find that very uncomfortable eventhough I've nothing good to say about the IRA. It is irrelevant now anyway. Furthermore support for the IRA was always pretty small in the Republic.

I haven't heard it sung at a game for a while now.

gspain

23/07/2007, 3:24 PM

We've been through the "till I die" thing before. Almost all agreed here that it was dumb. You can change your club, but not your national allegiance.

.

It is very rare for somebody to change their club. People are much more likely to change partners etc.

As for changing your national allegiances well there are significant numbers of Rangers fans supporting England which would have been unheard of 25 years ago. We also have a significant fanbase in Northern Ireland as do England which again was unheard of 20 years ago. Both may be dwindling recently though given our respective ginger worldclass maangers. :(

paul_oshea

23/07/2007, 3:40 PM

Furthermore support for the IRA was always pretty small in the Republic.

It depends on what your definition of "pretty small" is and whats the definition of "support"

micls

23/07/2007, 3:45 PM

You can change your club, but not your national allegiance.

Really? I can't change being born in Cork any more than being born in Ireland.....

See nothing wrong with the song and really don't understand how it could be construed as racist :confused:

gspain

23/07/2007, 3:51 PM

It depends on what your definition of "pretty small" is and whats the definition of "support"

Vote while the IRA was actively engaged in terrorism was less than 2%. 1.8% and 1.6% in general elections prior to ceasefire. Even current vote for SF/IRA is quite small even allowing for good looking trendy candidates.

paul_oshea

23/07/2007, 3:53 PM

Is support giving money in pubs? I would say yes. I was too young to know at the time, but I realise now.

Stuttgart88

23/07/2007, 3:57 PM

As for changing your national allegiances well there are significant numbers of Rangers fans supporting England which would have been unheard of 25 years ago.

Isn't that because Scotland isn't "British enough", i.e., the team attracts Scottish nationalists who aren't as supportive of the Union and wave the saltire rather than the union flag? They see more in common with the more right-wing of the English support, those that sing the "no Surrender" type drivel.

Mayo_Bhoy

23/07/2007, 4:17 PM

I didn't see the Panorama programme so can't comment on the content.

http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=26713483704811088&q=Hooligans+The+Untold+Story+Documentary&total=7&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0

ofjames

23/07/2007, 4:56 PM

IRA support in ireland? relevance to football? going way off topic there lads....i for one am not interested at all.

i'd agree with the previous statement that the relevant authorities will have no interest in self-inflicting the myriad of problems staging a game with england at croker would bring. Cant see us playing them at home again unless we end up in the same qualification group.

They surely have learned the lesson from the Lansdowne riot.

Although it's clearly true that a sizeable section of the english travelling support are vile and repulsive creatures, there are many irish scumbags (clad in celtic jersey's of course) that would match their ignorance and thugary for such a game. Witness the riot at the Love Ulster parade only down the road at O'Connell St last year.

The argument regarding irish fans being the 'best fans in the world' is a little oversold IMO

geysir

23/07/2007, 5:33 PM

IRA support in ireland? relevance to football? going way off topic there lads....i for one am not interested at all.
You should follow your own advice then, what has love ulster got to do with it?

co. down green

23/07/2007, 5:34 PM

Stutts/wolfie

Thanks for the facts regarding the North terrace in 95.

'We also have a significant fanbase in Northern Ireland as do England which again was unheard of 20 years ago.'

gspain

I've been going to games for over 20 years, as have many of our crew. I'm not sure why you think it was 'unheard of ' ?

I'm not aware of a big England support in the North, in fact its boll**ks . You might see they odd loyalist knuckle dragger in an England top, but they tend to alternate the between Rangers and n.i jerseys these days.

Torn-Ado

23/07/2007, 5:57 PM

You should follow your own advice then, what has love ulster got to do with it?

He had to get in his dig at Celtic fans, thats what.

ofjames

23/07/2007, 7:04 PM

What love ulster has to do with it?

The point was quite clear, a senior international with England in Dublin would bring out precisely the same scumbag element as did the Love Ulster parade, and that's exactly why the authorities wont want such a game.

If you cant see that as being more relevant than discussing what % of the vote IRA/SF got pre and post ceasefire then thats grand.

There was no intended dig at celtic fans. The dig was as the hundreds of ignorant and undereducated delinquants, visible across the country, who just so-happen to regard celtic shirts as an essential part of their chav uniform. Rather than being great fans, i would have thought these such people are far more likely to wear their celtic shirts as what they percieve to be a symbol of their particular (and extremely uninformed) view on the political situation of Northern Ireland.

paul_oshea

23/07/2007, 7:09 PM

If you cant see that as being more relevant than discussing what % of the vote IRA/SF got pre and post ceasefire then thats grand.

from the title of the thread it didnt have much to do with the subject matter in fairness, but all posts go slightly off topic along the way.

either way i dont think this is going to happen. The gaa are still not ready for an england soccer team in croke park.