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

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Originally Posted by Éanna

I'm not gonna drag this argument out over the boards adam, I'll PM you

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:( Ah, just when it was getting entertaining for the rest of us.... Spoilsport!! ;) :D

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Originally Posted by Dazzy

Nearly every country we play does this, so why cant we.

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I think we agree on this one Dazzy :) . I'm saying we can & should.

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Originally Posted by Colie

Nothing is beneath the standards of our supporters. They boo Ronaldo coz of Man U? Shams. They boo Rangers players. Most of the Ireland fans are dkheads & we'll have to live with that.

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OK, so fans who boo are dkheads.

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Originally Posted by Colie

I think booing everyone all the time is a good idea.

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Interesting. That'd make you a .....?

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Originally Posted by Dazzy

Nearly every country we play does this, so why cant we.

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Which countries would these be then?

France isreal russia georgia etc

Why do you feel intimidated booing another team while there on the ball?

I don't feel intimidated. I think it's rank bad sportsmanship which I don't condone. I want to see Irish fans keeping their hard-earned reputation for fairness. There are enough morons attending home games these days without everyone else joining in.

I feel that there are positive ways of supporting your team & negative ways. I listed above the circumstances under which I think booing is acceptable.

I don't recall any indiscriminate booing in France, and I didn't hear any on TV at the Israel game.

I did notice a large knife being thrown at Kevin Kilbane in Georgia though. I'm not sure we should aspire to the Georgian supporters' standards.

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Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

I don't feel intimidated. I think it's rank bad sportsmanship which I don't condone. I want to see Irish fans keeping their hard-earned reputation for fairness. There are enough morons attending home games these days without everyone else joining in.

I feel that there are positive ways of supporting your team & negative ways. I listed above the circumstances under which I think booing is acceptable.

I don't recall any indiscriminate booing in France, and I didn't hear any on TV at the Israel game.

I did notice a large knife being thrown at Kevin Kilbane in Georgia though. I'm not sure we should aspire to the Georgian supporters' standards.

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But you don't feel its bad sportsmanship to boo a referee who has made an honest mistake/poor decision - double standards surely?

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Originally Posted by Junior

But you don't feel its bad sportsmanship to boo a referee who has made an honest mistake/poor decision - double standards surely?

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No, If you've been denied a stonewall penalty I think it's fair to express your disapproval. Also, for example, when a linesman keeps getting offside decisions wrong. This is part & parcel of a football crowd. It used to happen when the Lansdowne atmosphere was at its peak & it never attracted any criticism.

I think there's a line you can cross though where booing becomes unacceptable.

I think down the years, with some recent exceptions (the Portugal match being the worst) we've developed a reputation for being fair. It doesn't mean we have to sit down and clap the oppositions' every move.

Robert Pires, having been on the receiving end of continuous booing in Paris, admitted to the French press that the Irish fans were fair. It was quite obvious what we were disapproving of - his diving. I don't think he'd have been as magnanimous if the booing had been indiscriminate.

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Originally Posted by Dazzy

France isreal russia georgia etc

Why do you feel intimidated booing another team while there on the ball?

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This is getting ridiculous, that's a ridiculous post. Irish fans, while there remains any decency in Lansdowne, do not boo just to win. Like Suttgart88 said, there is a line that shouldn't be crossed when booing. If someone has shafted your time with diving, boo him incessantly as he's cheated and isn't playing by the rules.

If a ref is making terrible decisions and shafting your team, you've every right to let him know how you feel.

Booing just because they're the opposition is just bad form. I'm not intimidated (who would be doing the intimidating, Dazzy?) by anything here, I just think it's bad form. In terms of pure idiocy and brain dead stupidity, it's on a par with booing an international player because he plays for Man Utd or Rangers.

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Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

No, If you've been denied a stonewall penalty I think it's fair to express your disapproval. Also, for example, when a linesman keeps getting offside decisions wrong. This is part & parcel of a football crowd. It used to happen when the Lansdowne atmosphere was at its peak & it never attracted any criticism.

I think there's a line you can cross though where booing becomes unacceptable.

I think down the years, with some recent exceptions (the Portugal match being the worst) we've developed a reputation for being fair. It doesn't mean we have to sit down and clap the oppositions' every move.

Robert Pires, having been on the receiving end of continuous booing in Paris, admitted to the French press that the Irish fans were fair. It was quite obvious what we were disapproving of - his diving. I don't think he'd have been as magnanimous if the booing had been indiscriminate.

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I am playing devils advocate here. However, If in YOUR opinion it was a stonewall penalty or an incorrect offside decision then its ok to boo and show your disapproval? not sure you've convinced me that you have sufficient criteria to suggest its not indiscriminate. I've been to plenty of games where fans have disagreed with every decision the officals make - they'd be getting some stick under your criteria?

I would say its 'part & parcel' for football fans of many nations to boo,whistle, jeer whenever the opposition are in posession of the ball. I don't think they get lambasted for being unreasonable, if anything I would say the media generally make positive comments regarding the 'electric' atmosphere or whatever.

I am all for positively supporting your own team, which should be the priority, however I am also all for putting off the opposition as much as possible and ensuring they have as uncomfortable a 90 minutes as is posssible. I think that is 'part and parcel' of the game.

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Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

I think there's a line you can cross though where booing becomes unacceptable.

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But who decides where that line is ?

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Originally Posted by Cowboy

But who decides where that line is ?

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I'd hope that a communal sense of decency & sportsmanship would determine that. Pretty much the way it's always been at Lansdowne, recent obvious exceptions aside. In fact it's these exceptions that have highlighted the "rule" (for want of a better word).

If someone else wants to take responsibility for arguing we should support our team enthusiastically but fairly please feel free to do so. I'm not sure I have much more to say on this topic without repeating previous posts.

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Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

I'd hope that a communal sense of decency & sportsmanship would determine that. Pretty much the way it's always been at Lansdowne, recent obvious exceptions aside. In fact it's these exceptions that have highlighted the "rule" (for want of a better word).

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I agree but I think we should be careful about what we deem to be acceptable/unacceptable lest someone else takes it upon themselves to decide for us. Personally I think booing players because of their club side is wrong and unsportsmanlike and although I would voice my objection to it I would not seek to prevent those who feel it is ok to do so.

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Originally Posted by Cowboy

Personally I think booing players because of their club side is wrong and unsportsmanlike and although I would voice my objection to it I would not seek to prevent those who feel it is ok to do so.

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Just to clarify: I wasn't suggesting this, moreover I was suggesting creating an intimidating atmosphere for [Bold]all[/b] of the opposition.

Im not interested in bringing my club allegiances to Ireland games.

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Originally Posted by Cowboy

Personally I think booing players because of their club side is wrong and unsportsmanlike and although I would voice my objection to it I would not seek to prevent those who feel it is ok to do so.

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Just to clarify: I wasn't suggesting this, moreover I was suggesting creating an intimidating atmosphere for all of the opposition team.

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Originally Posted by Junior

Just to clarify: I wasn't suggesting this, moreover I was suggesting creating an intimidating atmosphere for all of the opposition team.

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As is your right, but personally I would not boo the opposition unless something happened like they did not give the ball back after an injury or some similar incident.

I have some question for the irish fans. Today i've read that an irish-palestinian solidarity fund is planing to disturb the Israeli team on june 4th and protest against Israel during the game. I wonder what the majority of the irish fans think about it? do you support such move? do you think it will actually have any effect on the game?

after the welcome we received in Tel Aviv, i would be embarassed if thats the case. Where were theses idiots when China came to town?

Already covered here - don't see any need to go over old ground again...

Moved to off topic with the rest of the political debates.