A Political slant to the game on June 4th........

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Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

If people want to protest do it away from the ground. By protesting within the ground you'd be dragging those who don't want to protest into the picture. Why not protest at the airport or ot the team hotel if you want to?

I want to go to the game, wear my colours, support my team and show respect for my opponents.

Protesting against the Israeli football team would be like protesting against the US or English football teams for their actions in Iraq - despite the fact that nearly 50% voted against Bush and the overwhelming majority of the British population was against the Iraqi invasion. My understanding is that there is a sizeable liberal / left movement in Israel who find the Israeli right's actions disgraceful too.

Will we protest against the French for the rise in the far right vote, the massacres of North Africans in the 60's, the unilateral destruction of parts of the Sth Pacific from nuclear testing etc.? There's barely a country in the world whose policies I don't find unpalatable in some respect but when I go to Lansdowne Road I go to watch my favourite football team.

I haven't heard one bad word said about the reception the Irish got in Israel & I don't see any reason why we shouldn't reciprocate.

I have strong political opinions but the only thing I give a sh1t about on June 4th is getting 3 points. I suggest those with other agendas stay away and let people whose priority is watching the game use their tickets.

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here here well said..

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Originally Posted by Éanna

Freedom of religion- what about the palestinians who are not allowed to travel to worship at their holy sites?

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Freedom of religion eh ? ... Humm wonder if the guys organising this protest kicked up much of a fuss when we played Saudi Arabia 3 years ago.

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Originally Posted by CollegeTillIDie

Switzerland... Hoarding of the Nazi gold... hand it over to their surviving relatives!

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Not so long ago that woman had no vote in national elections. Apparently women still have vote in local elections! Should we all boycott them?

Or how about protesting about

1) Irish government's treatment of travellers.

2) Previous Government running guns to terrorists

3) Women's rights in ireland

4) Clear levels of corruption still going on in government

5) Racist treatment of non nationals


You can make a case for protesting against almost any country. This is a football match. We should give the visiting teama nd supporters the respect they deserve and the respect they gave us in Tel Aviv. This means standing in respectful sailence for their anthem and welcome the fans and team. Then focus on the football and get 100% behind our team. This is a very important game and distractions won't help.

Israel have an embassy in Dublin. There are ample opportunities to protest there, write letters etc.

[QUOTE=pineapple stu]Once again, my point at least has nothing to do with protesting against the Israeli team. My point centres around main symbol of the nation which will be evident at the game - the playing of the anthem. I for one have no intention of standing to honour the anthem and what it stands for. I think anything else is turning a blind eye on the issue, verging on social irresponsibility (maybe a bit strong, but anyway). If people sit down for the Israeli anthem and then, having made their point, get behind their team, give the visiting team due credit where it's due - where's the problem there?


The national anthem belongs/represents all Israelis, those that agree with their government's policies and those that don't. THere are many Israelis who don't agree with the occupation of the West Bank/Gaza but they are still proud to be Israelis. According their anthem some respect is not turning a blind eye to anything. Many people disagreed with our government allowing the US to use Shannon during the invasion of Iraq and thought it made us complicit in pursuing what they saw as an illegal war. Would you have appreciated if say a sizeable portion of the crowd at our game in Paris had turned their backs when our anthem was been played. I certainly won't have and would have taken it as a insult to the IRish fans in the stadium (many of whom would hold the same view of the US using Shannon) but I would have no problem with people protesting outside our embassy if they felt that strongly about it.

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Originally Posted by pineapple stu

Once again, my point at least has nothing to do with protesting against the Israeli team. My point centres around main symbol of the nation which will be evident at the game - the playing of the anthem. I for one have no intention of standing to honour the anthem and what it stands for. I think anything else is turning a blind eye on the issue, verging on social irresponsibility (maybe a bit strong, but anyway). If people sit down for the Israeli anthem and then, having made their point, get behind their team, give the visiting team due credit where it's due - where's the problem there?

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Firstly mate, I think you're out of order saying that those not doing what you plan on doing are socially irresponsible.

Like I said at the start, I don't think you can separate football and politics. I remember Savo Milosevic banging on about how Kosovo was part of Serbia and should always remain so (this was in some interview with FourFourTwo or the likes). Humphries says there were others but I don't remember any. The team is representing a country after all, although not a particular government. The lads who come here in June are not akin with Ariel Sharon. Their national anthem is not in honour of Ariel Sharon. Try and separate nation and state...

My main beef with this was the pro-Palestinian element to it. I find loads of Israeli policy disgusting but that doesn't mean I'm going to go out and bat for the Palestinian cause. Both have decent goals - both have pursued them through disgusting methods. I've got support for the Palestinians who were getting their houses bulldozed while Sharon was bringing in new settlers but I've got sympathy for those Israelis who can't go to the fish market without breaking into a sweat.

If we were playing Nazi Germany, it would be different - it's not as if there were two sides to that story.

I also wouldn't mind watching a game of ball without boos ringing out of the place every time they touch the ball. I get enough of that when the opposition has a Rangers player.

There were a few Israeli lads on this site after the last game. I remember them being very decent (apart from one trolling prat) and I think we should show them the same decency instead of hurling abuse at their team because of what successive Israeli governments have done.

Anger is a gift but maybe it's best to take your protest to the Israeli embassy or to Israel itself.

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Originally Posted by Donal81

I also wouldn't mind watching a game of ball without boos ringing out of the place every time they touch the ball. I get enough of that when the opposition has a Rangers player.

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You've taken that too far. Perhaps we should applaud them when they make a good pass or score (god forbid). Bollóx we should make it intimidating in order to help us get the win. If that means booing their every touch then so be it.

I think showing disrespect to anyone's national anthem is undignified and beneath the standards of our supporters. It also brings in those who don't want to be associated with any protest.

There's an Iranian guy at work here who swears the Iranians were treated badly in Dublin. Total nonsense from what I remember. It turns out he wasn't even there. My point is that even a small token gesture from Irish fans would soon be reported as a mass protest and the reputation of the majority would be tainted by the actions of a minority.

There's a whole history of "protests" being misinterpreted at Lansdowne. I still maintain the booing of Rangers players was only ever benign pantomime booing but within days the mid-morning radio chat shows were full of "sectarianism plague at Lansdowne" type nonsense. The best solution: to stop.

I booed Ralph Keyes at a rugby international in the early 1990s after the umpteenth long, high punt into opposition territory (anyone remember that famous incident?). But NOBODY reported that it wasn't the player who was being booed - it was the strategy of constantly kicking away possession instead of moving the ball across the backs - with Simon Geoghegan on the wing I think. This was a management tactic, not Ralph Keyes'.

Everyone remembers the chants of "Keano, Keano" at the Swiss game, but did anyone ever report the response of the rest of the crowd? The list is endless.

I even heard a burberry wearing combat 18 type thug on TV a while back saying WE started the riot in 1995. Why? Because a MINORITY booed GSTQ.

England & Yugoslavia are the only countries who have had their anthem booed at Lansdowne in my memory. This is two too many (though - contradictorily maybe - I didn't give a **** about what the Yugoslavs thought). Booing GSTQ would just have been sinking to their fans' level. I think maybe Lichtenstein got booed too, or whoever it was that shares the tune to GSTQ!

An orderly protest outside the Israeli embassy would be the dignified approach to take.

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Originally Posted by Junior

You've taken that too far. Perhaps we should applaud them when they make a good pass or score (god forbid). Bollóx we should make it intimidating in order to help us get the win. If that means booing their every touch then so be it.

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You boo their every touch if you want mate. I think that's bad form.

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Originally Posted by Junior

You've taken that too far. Perhaps we should applaud them when they make a good pass or score (god forbid). Bollóx we should make it intimidating in order to help us get the win. If that means booing their every touch then so be it.

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We created a very intimidating atmosphere in the late 80s without booing anyone.

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There's an Iranian guy at work here who swears the Iranians were treated badly in Dublin.

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stut, maybe there were a few, but my mate said his whole family, friends and cousins went over and they said they had a brilliant time. he said everyone was lovely to them.

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Originally Posted by paul_oshea

my mate said his whole family, friends and cousins went over and they said they had a brilliant time. he said everyone was lovely to them.

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That was my recollection too.

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Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

We created a very intimidating atmosphere in the late 80s without booing anyone.

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that may be so, id didn't attend LR in the 80's. LR hasn't been intimidating for a long while now, the most intimidating grounds I've been at are when the opposition are booed,whistled jeered whilst in posession.

What is your suggestion for making the place intimidating again (assuming you want to) Olé Olé or come on you boys in green?

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Originally Posted by Junior

that may be so, id didn't attend LR in the 80's. LR hasn't been intimidating for a long while now, the most intimidating grounds I've been at are when the opposition are booed,whistled jeered whilst in posession.

What is your suggestion for making the place intimidating again (assuming you want to) Olé Olé or come on you boys in green?

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I'm not saying it's not intimidating - I just don't think it's right to boo just because you want to win.

I don't think Lansdowne is as intimidating as it was because (a) our style of football has changed and (b) our expectations have changed. We no longer play the pressure, pressure Charlton game and we're no longer constantly up against it. The crowd's attitude has changed as a result, I reckon.

Do you have a problem with Come on you Boys in Green Junior?

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Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

Do you have a problem with Come on you Boys in Green Junior?

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Only the fact that its our only song, becomes pretty tedious if Im honest. nearly as bad as stand up for the boys in green every 3 minutes.

If it was one song of many, where the stadium was a ball of sound I'd so no I don't have a problem. As it isn't, its pretty ****é to be honest.


TBH I think the view that its not nice to boo, or that its bad form is PC gone mad, we are at a football match, its not personal!!!

Was just asking because there was so much "Come on you Boys in Green" is crap but "Thierry Henry, yer aving a larf" is good type rubbish written after the Paris game that sometimes I wonder what the **** is going on.

Boys in Green has always been our song & I hope it always will be.

I think it's fine to boo players for cheating & time wasting (does anyone remember the Polish goalkeeper's "injury" in 1991?), it's fine to boo when a bad decision is made by the ref, when the opposition doesn't give the ball back after an injury etc. I agree it's all part of the atmosphere.

But I don't think it's OK to boo a side just for being there or for having the ball.

I think there's a difference. It's not like club football where local rivalries get poisonous like when MUFC visit Elland Road or whatever.

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Originally Posted by Donal81

I think we should show them the same decency instead of hurling abuse at their team because of what successive Israeli governments have done.

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Who's talking about hurling abuse? I wouldn't support abuse of the individual fans or players in any way. I just think a token gesture should be made when the anthems are being played, to make a point. That should be the end of it then IMO

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Originally Posted by Éanna

I just think a token gesture should be made when the anthems are being played, to make a point. That should be the end of it then IMO

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To be honest with you I'd be more concerned with encouraging people to sing our own anthem than trying to disrupt the opposition's efforts.