Soccer Thugs in Croke Park

[Lim till i die]

Disgraceful scenes at todays Leinster Football Final between Louth (A well known soccer county) and Meath.

At full time after a magnificent display of atlethicism from the god fearing gaels on both sides, the referee was quite clearly, in full view of the cameras, viciously assaulted by Dundalk soccer club hooligans who had stopped off on their way to a national league game against the infamous Shamrock Rovers thugs at Thomas Davis' South Dublin Co Council GAA and other sports municipal grounds.

The question must be asked of TD's and parish priests the length and breath of the country. Is it time to ban soccer forever??




Copyright: Martin Breheney

[ArdeeBhoy]

Er, yes. Of course.

And to be fair, there's plenty who'd hate that lucky shower, who of course have never been anywhere near any soccer ground (Croke Park excluded!).

Maybe the ref (& men in white coats) should stop using H*nry's opticians??

[OneRedArmy]

Grassroots game...honest physical aggression...sure you'd see it in any sport...community spirit...it was the ref's fault...fans have a right to be on the pitch...

Let's see the Jones Rd. PR machine spin into action.

[Spudulika]

Not a fair thread, the match today had a referee who was a disgrace, and his men in white coats should have taken a hammering too! Really sickening and someone with Louth blood, and a cousin in the line up, if I'd been there I'd have taken something to the ref - I just hate when an official is so inept as Sludden was. It was such a sickening thing to watch and even though I'd been forced to watch it online far from home, it did bring back memories of November 2009 and the piece of crud that is Henry. However the GAA at least will look for fair play and hopefully give a replay!

[Spudulika]

Grassroots game...honest physical aggression...sure you'd see it in any sport...community spirit...it was the ref's fault...fans have a right to be on the pitch...

Let's see the Jones Rd. PR machine spin into action.

No need ORA, they've already condemned it and it was slammed -even the studio were told to tame down the criticism of the ref off the air and went on the attack against Louth's profligate shooting - but they couldn't but give final comment to the blatant cheating that triggered it. Imagine if, in Stade de France, they'd actually played the replay on teh big screen of Henry's cheating - I wonder what would have happened!

[Lim till i die]

Er, yes. Of course.

And to be fair, there's plenty who'd hate that lucky shower, who of course have never been anywhere near any soccer ground (Croke Park excluded!).

Maybe the ref (& men in white coats) should stop using H*nry's opticians??

Not a fair thread, the match today had a referee who was a disgrace, and his men in white coats should have taken a hammering too! Really sickening and someone with Louth blood, and a cousin in the line up, if I'd been there I'd have taken something to the ref - I just hate when an official is so inept as Sludden was. It was such a sickening thing to watch and even though I'd been forced to watch it online far from home, it did bring back memories of November 2009 and the piece of crud that is Henry. However the GAA at least will look for fair play and hopefully give a replay!

[Spudulika]

Lim, cheating is cheating - the idiots who ran after the ref should be banned for life from ALL sports venues, they aren't sports fans and they don't represent anything to do with sport. I was sick, and while I'd love to wallop the ref, I've been in his position and he messed up, simple as. This is where honesty and fair play come in - Henry should have said, oops, I handled it (just as his two team mates - before and after tried to). Sheridan could have said today -I thought I was back playing rugger. But maybe the GAA will do the right thing.

[Lim till i die]

The OP may have been a tiny bit tongue in cheek.

[OneRedArmy]

No need ORA, they've already condemned it and it was slammed -even the studio were told to tame down the criticism of the ref off the air and went on the attack against Louth's profligate shooting - but they couldn't but give final comment to the blatant cheating that triggered it. Imagine if, in Stade de France, they'd actually played the replay on teh big screen of Henry's cheating - I wonder what would have happened!

Congrats, you've just justified my point.

[holidaysong]

You weren't far off the mark LTID...

http://www.anfearrua.com/db.asp?a=to...lay&tid=860368

Originally posted by Louie Gleeson:
disgraceful attacks on the referee


Yeah, there's a big soccer element in Louth!


A fair few Shinners too I'd hazzard

[ArdeeBhoy]

The OP may have been a tiny bit tongue in cheek.

And so was mine!


Though the comments from the An Fear Rua board are generally more amusing.....

[elroy]

I follow all sports, but football (some call it soccer) is my number one.

I regularly review gaa forums after certain championship games and it amazes me the reaction of gaa fans sometimes. Criticism of any sort is resisted. On the forums (such as posted above) they are already saying these individuals probably have no connection with the gaa and that louth has a big soccer following so the perpetrators in this case must be the soccer crowd.

Wake up lads!! Gaa has its fair share of thugs as much as any other code. In fact, at my attendance at all codes, I have seen more scarier/dodgy incidents at gaa games more than football.

I was in SdeF, we knew from either seeing the incident and/or texts from home that we were cheated out of at least pens that night, but that did not mean we wanted to march on the pitch and hit the ref. Lack of segregation at gaa games is a good thing by and large but isolated incidents are more likely and do happen as a result. Still there is an abject feeling in the gaa that this sort of thing doesnt happen at their games which is ridiculous. No matter how bad a game he had, you cant justify such actions on the ref and also the security around the ref was appalling.

[bennocelt]

I dont see what all the hullalboo was. He fell over the line with the ball in his hand. Wow so what. Whats the difference to that than the great skill of hand passing it into an empty net
The Gah is so funny sometimes

[elroy]

I dont see what all the hullalboo was. He fell over the line with the ball in his hand. Wow so what. Whats the difference to that than the great skill of hand passing it into an empty net
The Gah is so funny sometimes

I think you have a point, there are some very bizarre rules. I seem to recall a goal scored by Tyrone against Dublin back in the final in 1995 disallowed for similar enough reasons i.e. no striking action.

I always understood that you could score a goal by fisting the back to the net or once there is a striking action on the ball. From what im hearing on the radio today, a goal will not be awarded if a player runs across the line with ball in hand (fair enough) but also will be disallowed if the ball is fisted or hand passed to the net.

[Spudulika]

I dont see what all the hullalboo was. He fell over the line with the ball in his hand. Wow so what. Whats the difference to that than the great skill of hand passing it into an empty net
The Gah is so funny sometimes

Go to Ruislip a wee bit Bennocelt, you can't hand pass a goal. The sick thing was it was the 3rd of 3 transgressions that should have been penalised - first a blatant push in the back - by a player standing in the small square, then he carried the ball over the line.

The idiots who ran after the ref weren't sports fans, like the morons who acted the idiot at Oriel, at the Foster-McCracken fight, at the Aussie Open etc etc. It's not right and they should prosecuted properly.

Elroy, anyone I know was still unsure about the handball in Paris until they hit the bars after - and the amount of chaos on the streets as it was meant there was a huge police presence. It's a sickener today as it was on that night in November. And what's worse, Louth have been on the receipt of a large amount of horrible decisions - 1964 was one (also Meath), 1991 with Laois, 1998 when the referee gave Louth a free for a closed fist punch on Stefan White, then as Louth ran forward he took the ball from the Louth player, gave it to the Meath man who passed to Tommy Dowd who stuck it over the bar - Louth lost their lead and by a point in the end. 2006 with Meath (7minutes extra time added when there was no more than 2 to be added so they could score 2 goals to win by a point). There was an incompetent referee today that isn't capable to ref at that level. The worst thing that will happen is the GAA and media will cover up the mistakes by the ref and he won't be dropped (as would be the case in football - well, BUttimer excepted :-) )

[Spudulika]

But anyway, here's hoping for a replay and fines/prison terms for the supporters - and ref.

[Longfordian]

The actions of the Louth fans deserve nothing but condemnation and contempt, five goes and they didn't one proper dig in..

[outspoken]

I have no time for the GAA love the sport but hate the people that run it. Its all about who you are and who you know.

The minute theres an incident like this the GAA try to blame Football fans. And if this was dub fans it would be a different story nothing would be said.

Today on the sunday game they were criticising Louth fans for booing at freetakers but its been done in bigger numbers by Dun fans for years and theres never been anything said other than a great atmosphere on the hill today.

And like someone said earlier ive seen worse incidents at GAA matches than Football matches......one year in croke park their was young lads in the top tier throwing down big steel bolts if they hit someone on the head they'd crack your skull open!!!

But the bottom line is the stewards and Guards were awful but the Louth fans were right to go after the ref their first final in 50 years and they got done by the ref.

[apo11o]

It's always soccer thugs at GAA games that cause the trouble, no God Fearing GAA man would leave Mass on a Sun morning and go to a GAA game and get involved in that sort of thing.

And if it's not soccer thugs it's culchies, well the west brits are well able to start a riot.

[osarusan]

the Louth fans were right to go after the ref their first final in 50 years and they got done by the ref.

wtf? How can you say that?

The ref gets a decision wrong (no matter how wrong, or how important), and you think it's right to go after him throwing punches?