Monaghan (Away)

[Jofspring]

The throwing of a bottle at the Monaghan fan by some little **** is what got the gardai to come over. The gard took a bit of abuse for telling lads one more racist comment and they are out which in fairness I don't know where he got the racist comment from. That one gard then had it out for a few of the lads and decided to call a few squad cars and a paddy wagon. The rest of the gards in fairness told us they where told by Monaghan stewards who to pull out and there was nothing they could do but take their word for it. It was only one gard really that was getting out of hand and from my experience as usual it was an older gard.

Some of the chants where a bit over the top and they should be aimed at supporting the team and not abusing other people but for the gards to get involved when there was nothing kicking off bar a few youngfellas in a crowd sing (admittedly abusive stuff at times) was way over the top.

There was no racist comments unless you want to say possibly dirty northern b******ds is one which is a bit much seens as most opposition fans call us stab city scum etc......... the younger lads singing "we're from stab city we can do what we want" done themselves no favours in the gards eyes either though.

Abusing other fans and the gards in chants isn't supporting the team. Fair enough it's done the world over in football but why should limerick fans do it just because other crowds are doing it. If the lads just kept singing about the team and left it at that it would have given the gards no excuses to get involved.

There was great noise for the first 20 minutes which was a credit to the lads but there is no point in sinking it down a level and giving the gards (in my eyes) an excuse to get involved. A few people had to leave the stand with kids because of some of the chants.

By the way there is a pyrotechnics show on in my house this Halloween......

http://www.clipartguide.com/_named_c...part_image.jpg

[fieldofmarkets]

Lads will sing songs at football matches and generally without anyone being arrested. Some chants were a little stinging but nothing that warranted any action. I was sitting in the stand and saw most of it....the guard marched over with clear intent to start something...immediately calling out some lads with the term "hey you...arsehole" - that's not acceptable from a guard on duty in uniform.


The Mons steward with safety officer on his bib also was happy to stir up a situation which is not ok for a steward and Mons should review his actions. There was a chap in a black sweatshirt that marched over to the seats in front of the young lads singing, brandishing a Shamorock Rovers card that proceeded to turn around and taunt the crowd with plenty of abusive language and hand gestures. The guard and safety officer had no problem with that. In fact the safety officer walked over to this chap, slapped him on the knee and gave him the thumbs up sign as if to congratulate and encourage him. Pretty incredible.

This safety steward had a good chat and giggle with the guard after the two young lads were hauled out.

[bluewhitearmy]

The throwing of a bottle at the Monaghan fan by some little **** is what got the gardai to come over. The gard took a bit of abuse for telling lads one more racist comment and they are out which in fairness I don't know where he got the racist comment from. That one gard then had it out for a few of the lads and decided to call a few squad cars and a paddy wagon. The rest of the gards in fairness told us they where told by Monaghan stewards who to pull out and there was nothing they could do but take their word for it. It was only one gard really that was getting out of hand and from my experience as usual it was an older gard.

Some of the chants where a bit over the top and they should be aimed at supporting the team and not abusing other people but for the gards to get involved when there was nothing kicking off bar a few youngfellas in a crowd sing (admittedly abusive stuff at times) was way over the top.

There was no racist comments unless you want to say possibly dirty northern b******ds is one which is a bit much seens as most opposition fans call us stab city scum etc......... the younger lads singing "we're from stab city we can do what we want" done themselves no favours in the gards eyes either though.

Abusing other fans and the gards in chants isn't supporting the team. Fair enough it's done the world over in football but why should limerick fans do it just because other crowds are doing it. If the lads just kept singing about the team and left it at that it would have given the gards no excuses to get involved.

There was great noise for the first 20 minutes which was a credit to the lads but there is no point in sinking it down a level and giving the gards (in my eyes) an excuse to get involved. A few people had to leave the stand with kids because of some of the chants.

By the way there is a pyrotechnics show on in my house this Halloween......

Attachment 0

The bottle thing was dealt with straight away by the lads that were singing and that lad will never be travelling with us again.
The guard never mentioned anything about racist comment until after the lads had been arrested and he needed to make up a reason.

The people that got abused were Roddy Collins,Fran Gavin and the Shamrock Rovers fan who felt the need to come up into the Limerick fans and call us scumbags and things like that....Hardly abusing the guards in fairness turning our backs and singing "We're not listening to you" is what was mainly sang there was a bit of songs about pigs after he had told us to shut up and when asked what had we to shut up saying " That stupid singing" nothing about abuse. Hardly abuse to the lads in front of the stand that was banter unless singing "You baldy b*****d" or "How long did it take to wax your head" is abuse enough to warrant guards which if it is i think people are too sensitive.

The dirty northern b******ds was after a mons player had made an awful challenge.

Pat O Sullivan asked us to only sing about Limerick at one stage and we did that it was after about 10-15 mins of that only singing about Limerick that they came in and took the 3 lads closest to them there was no real picking out of people so " If the lads just kept singing about the team and left it at that it would have given the gards no excuses to get involved." isnt true....Even Pat himself said to the guard that we had stopped when asked but he was having none of it they got abused again after that.

The person i saw leaving the stand told me afterwards he left because he thought the guards were going to start battering people so they say they left over the chants isnt the full story really..

The chanting only got really abusive after the guard had came up and got involved for nothing before that it was almost all about the team bar the odd song about Roddy Collins and things like your supposed to be at home.

[bluewhitearmy]

Lads will sing songs at football matches and generally without anyone being arrested. Some chants were a little stinging but nothing that warranted any action. I was sitting in the stand and saw most of it....the guard marched over with clear intent to start something...immediately calling out some lads with the term "hey you...arsehole" - that's not acceptable from a guard on duty in uniform.


The Mons steward with safety officer on his bib also was happy to stir up a situation which is not ok for a steward and Mons should review his actions. There was a chap in a black sweatshirt that marched over to the seats in front of the young lads singing, brandishing a Shamorock Rovers card that proceeded to turn around and taunt the crowd with plenty of abusive language and hand gestures. The guard and safety officer had no problem with that. In fact the safety officer walked over to this chap, slapped him on the knee and gave him the thumbs up sign as if to congratulate and encourage him. Pretty incredible.

This safety steward had a good chat and giggle with the guard after the two young lads were hauled out.

Thank god there was more then just our group there to see that he was clearing going to cause a bit of hassle and the Guard and Steward just stood there watching him laughing even after being asked by me and other in our group to remove him before it caused trouble. One of our group then went down and said it to the other guards and stewards and was told to F Off he was then later arrested.

[fieldofmarkets]

A ring of about 10 guards forming around that section of the stand certainly was an intimidating tactic and completely unjustified. It would have been plenty of reason for anyone to get up and leave.

[bluewhitearmy]

A ring of about 10 guards forming around that section of the stand certainly was an intimidating tactic and completely unjustified. It would have been plenty of reason for anyone to get up and leave.

When i seen that i thought myself we were in for a bit of a kicking.

[LK37oldskool]

Listened to the game on Live95(well done to them!). M.Aherne and the other commentator were both shocked at seein the lads being ejected and mentioned it several times that there was no trouble whatsoever.The Limerick support came across great on the radio. Great result all the same. Cant wait for next Sat.

[Jofspring]

The bottle thing was dealt with straight away by the lads that were singing and that lad will never be travelling with us again.
The guard never mentioned anything about racist comment until after the lads had been arrested and he needed to make up a reason.

The people that got abused were Roddy Collins,Fran Gavin and the Shamrock Rovers fan who felt the need to come up into the Limerick fans and call us scumbags and things like that....Hardly abusing the guards in fairness turning our backs and singing "We're not listening to you" is what was mainly sang there was a bit of songs about pigs after he had told us to shut up and when asked what had we to shut up saying " That stupid singing" nothing about abuse. Hardly abuse to the lads in front of the stand that was banter unless singing "You baldy b*****d" or "How long did it take to wax your head" is abuse enough to warrant guards which if it is i think people are too sensitive.

The dirty northern b******ds was after a mons player had made an awful challenge.

Pat O Sullivan asked us to only sing about Limerick at one stage and we did that it was after about 10-15 mins of that only singing about Limerick that they came in and took the 3 lads closest to them there was no real picking out of people so " If the lads just kept singing about the team and left it at that it would have given the gards no excuses to get involved." isnt true....Even Pat himself said to the guard that we had stopped when asked but he was having none of it they got abused again after that.

The person i saw leaving the stand told me afterwards he left because he thought the guards were going to start battering people so they say they left over the chants isnt the full story really..

The chanting only got really abusive after the guard had came up and got involved for nothing before that it was almost all about the team bar the odd song about Roddy Collins and things like your supposed to be at home.

Fair enough if ye sorted the bottle thing but the stewards didn't know that.

The first thing the gard said when he came into the stand was "one more racist comment and ye are gone" and this is when everyone started kicking off that they did no such thing which I agree with and the gard should never have come up into the stand to instigate something. That gard should be reported as he was the main guy that made something out of nothing. He was out to get the lads at that stage and when they started singing about pigs etc... It just riled the gard even more and he lost his cool. The gards where to blame for a complete over reaction (I even started ****ing the gard out of it for man handling Simmonds) to basically nothing but if you make chants towards the gards calling them pigs and then a group start singing "we are from limerick we'll do what we want" and "we're from stab city we'll do what we want" it is just asking for the gards to kick off. I know that was only a few lads but when they are in amongst a crowd the crowd will always get the blame.

The pyrotechnics thing was rubbish from the gards, the racism was rubbish from the gards. The gards told me the stewards told them who to pull out and the steward then told me its up to the gards who they pull out so neither wanted responsibility.

Do you not agree though that a chant calling an opposition fan a fat bitch and everything else said in that chant is way over the top and has nothing to do with supporting Limerick FC?

As I say the lads made great noise for the team but it needs to aimed in a positive way. Abusing opposition players and managers is one thing but picking out one fan is another. The maturer heads in the group need to tell the younger fellas they must have an adult with them cause from I can see "some" of them think cause they are outside limerick on their own they can do what they want.

[gael353]

"Event controller" was the guy i had a chat with. He just said **** off, **** you when i asked him to remove the taunting rovers fan, and the monaghan fans near the limerick end who were taunting the limerick fans. The sargent in charge caused a lot of the problems, firstly that paddy wagon needed to be used you cant just turn up at a football ground with a paddy wagon and not use it like. So after telling the chanting fans that they were all scum bags and he was gonna break a 12yos legs he just nabbed three guys near him. The reason he brought in racism was he has been trained in a special garda unit all about racism at football grounds etc. its a heavy charge but with no foundation. **** ******** was that garda and he caused most of the problems last night with his aggression aimed at the away fans.

[bluewhitearmy]

Fair enough if ye sorted the bottle thing but the stewards didn't know that.

The first thing the gard said when he came into the stand was "one more racist comment and ye are gone" and this is when everyone started kicking off that they did no such thing which I agree with and the gard should never have come up into the stand to instigate something. That gard should be reported as he was the main guy that made something out of nothing. He was out to get the lads at that stage and when they started singing about pigs etc... It just riled the gard even more and he lost his cool. The gards where to blame for a complete over reaction (I even started ****ing the gard out of it for man handling Simmonds) to basically nothing but if you make chants towards the gards calling them pigs and then a group start singing "we are from limerick we'll do what we want" and "we're from stab city we'll do what we want" it is just asking for the gards to kick off. I know that was only a few lads but when they are in amongst a crowd the crowd will always get the blame.

The pyrotechnics thing was rubbish from the gards, the racism was rubbish from the gards. The gards told me the stewards told them who to pull out and the steward then told me its up to the gards who they pull out so neither wanted responsibility.

Do you not agree though that a chant calling an opposition fan a fat bitch and everything else said in that chant is way over the top and has nothing to do with supporting Limerick FC?

As I say the lads made great noise for the team but it needs to aimed in a positive way. Abusing opposition players and managers is one thing but picking out one fan is another. The maturer heads in the group need to tell the younger fellas they must have an adult with them cause from I can see "some" of them think cause they are outside limerick on their own they can do what they want.

I personally told a steward we had dealt with the bottle thing when he came into the stand and he ignored me you couldnt have know that obviously.

I didnt hear that at all being honest 1st i heard was what i said in my post above so apologies for wronging you there.

The stab city thing was absolutely ridiculous and as soon as it was started i told people to shut up and walked away from the group but that was after the 3 lads had been arrested and everything had happened with the guards so had no effect on how the guards acted....The we're from Limerick we'll do what we want was meant as a bit of a mess didnt think it was that much of a deal being honest.

I agree 100% about the picking ou tone fan but i dont remember fat bitch being used fat was used alright yes and it should not have been..That was sang once and once only as far as i remember (Open to correction there)..There is a reason that one fan was picked out it wasnt just a random thing but that excuses nothing and it should not have happened....In saying that id apologise to Limerick fans around for that song being sang but in no way would i apologise to the person it was about for my own reasons.

Some of the lads were at an away game for the 1st time and are not even part of the group that are together in Jackman......Some of them will never be welcome to tarvel with us again.

Not having a go at you in the previous post at all man just to let ya know just saying how i saw things from where i was in the group singing.

12 year old boy was threatened to have his legs broken by the fat guard which is a complete disgrace.

[sadloserkid]

Tough luck on the three boys last night who were picked out by Paul Elephant (He never forgets. He's lardy too.) but as Jopfspring has said the Limerick fans didn't help there own case at times.

The 'We're from Limerick and we'll do what we want' chant - empty bravado aimed at antagonising a very unreasonable copper, well it worked out that way too.

Ditto for the 'Piggies' chant.

The chant about a particular Monaghan fan was unbelievably petty and needless, even if this same person stooped to a similar level after the game, first trying miserably to manhandle kids trying to get onto the pitch and then, even more pointlessly, trying to pull away Limerick fans that were cheering the team off away from a closed, unused pitchside gate.

The steady string of homophobic abuse screamed out (by individuals and not as chants to be fair) has long grated with me. That had nothing to do with last nights action to be fair but the bile behind these shouts of 'faggittttttt' and 'queeeeeeeeer' always make me cringe a bit.

The throwing of sparklers in front of the stand early on was shape throwing at it's most peurile too.

Against all this the arrests were made (as far as I've ascertained) for the following reasons:

1) Racial abuse of their substitute as he came on. This did not happen. At all. I was actively listening out to see if it would to be honest but there was zero abuse.

2)6-8 lads drinking cans in the stand. I wasn't in the stand but hadn't noticed this. Even if this was the case it woudn't explain why there were three arrests of, as far as I could tell, people who weren't being accused of this offence.

3)The Roddy Collins chant. Chants were made that would suggest that Roddy shares some views with David Norris (less subtly I'll grant you). I wouldn't have it down as grounds for arrest but even if it was there were at least 30/35 people who should have been carted off then.

My two cent, for what little it's worth, is that the Monaghan stewards were a disgrace. Refusing to move along the sole, provocative Shamrock Rovers fan was idiotic and designed to cause trouble. It gave Paul Elephant the excuse that he was looking for to come up and make a nuisance of himself. It allowed him to bait an element of the Limerick support who promptly took the bait and gave him the flimsy excuse he needed to make a mountain out of a molehill.

[Jofspring]

From the limerick side of things the lads who thought they could do what they want should be sorted and as you say won't be allowed travel again which is about all you can do but from the Monaghan side that garda needs to be dealt with.

We had the exact same problem in Tolka a few years back. The Shels fans got on the pitch and ran the length towards our fans but an older gard told our fans they where hooligans and scum and to get back in our place to the disgust of the other younger gardai around him. He even told Kieran Judge he was a scumbag or something to that affect for no reason. From what I've seen the older gardai seem to be acting first and asking questions later. They see a group of lads from limerick and their first reaction is they are scum and I'll show them who's boss.

[Jofspring]

Tough luck on the three boys last night who were picked out by Paul Elephant (He never forgets. He's lardy too.) but as Jopfspring has said the Limerick fans didn't help there own case at times.

The 'We're from Limerick and we'll do what we want' chant - empty bravado aimed at antagonising a very unreasonable copper, well it worked out that way too.

Ditto for the 'Piggies' chant.

The chant about a particular Monaghan fan was unbelievably petty and needless, even if this same person stooped to a similar level after the game, first trying miserably to manhandle kids trying to get onto the pitch and then, even more pointlessly, trying to pull away Limerick fans that were cheering the team off away from a closed, unused pitchside gate.

The steady string of homophobic abuse screamed out (by individuals and not as chants to be fair) has long grated with me. That had nothing to do with last nights action to be fair but the bile behind these shouts of 'faggittttttt' and 'queeeeeeeeer' always make me cringe a bit.

The throwing of sparklers in front of the stand early on was shape throwing at it's most peurile too.

Against all this the arrests were made (as far as I've ascertained) for the following reasons:

1) Racial abuse of their substitute as he came on. This did not happen. At all. I was actively listening out to see if it would to be honest but there was zero abuse.

2)6-8 lads drinking cans in the stand. I wasn't in the stand but hadn't noticed this. Even if this was the case it woudn't explain why there were three arrests of, as far as I could tell, people who weren't being accused of this offence.

3)The Roddy Collins chant. Chants were made that would suggest that Roddy shares some views with David Norris (less subtly I'll grant you). I wouldn't have it down as grounds for arrest but even if it was there were at least 30/35 people who should have been carted off then.

My two cent, for what little it's worth, is that the Monaghan stewards were a disgrace. Refusing to move along the sole, provocative Shamrock Rovers fan was idiotic and designed to cause trouble. It gave Paul Elephant the excuse that he was looking for to come up and make a nuisance of himself. It allowed him to bait an element of the Limerick support who promptly took the bait and gave him the flimsy excuse he needed to make a mountain out of a molehill.

I can never understand the "faggit thing from few" either.

On the racial abuse of the sub, two Monaghan subs stood up to come on, one white and one black. The limerick fans booed this, no more no less. If they are trying to say it was racist because one sub had different colour skin then I'm sorry but that is disgraceful.

On the drinking thing, I may be blind but I did not see anyone drinking in the stand and when the lads wanted a pint they actually went into the clubhouse where they spent there money.

[bluewhitearmy]

I can never understand the "faggit thing from few" either.

On the racial abuse of the sub, two Monaghan subs stood up to come on, one white and one black. The limerick fans booed this, no more no less. If they are trying to say it was racist because one sub had different colour skin then I'm sorry but that is disgraceful.

On the drinking thing, I may be blind but I did not see anyone drinking in the stand and when the lads wanted a pint they actually went into the clubhouse where they spent there money.

There was no drinking in the stand at all.

The only Queer thing i remember is singing to the lads that were turning round having a go and it was after someone had called them boyfriends.

The sparkler thing was nothing at all being honest.

The booing when the subs were coming on is because we mistakenly thought one of the players coming off was the Mons player that should have been sent off.

[bluewhitearmy]

Also should have said this at the start but massive massive credit has to go to Pat O'Sullivan for how he dealt with things lastnight....The man is an absolute gentleman.

[El-Pietro]

i do believe i now owe3 Limerick fans a pint. next time ye are in cork for a match send me a pm and I'll come good on my promise

You legends you!

[LFC Blue]

The bit of trouble aside last night what a massive 3 points for Limerick.The consistencey and character from the lads has got to be applauded and Pat Scully has to be given alot of credit for maintaining the challenge when it would have been very easy to have thrown in the towel. I genuinely believe that there'll be a final twist on the last day and we can sneak 3rd. Lets hope for a big night in Jackman on Saturday.

[Lim till i die]

The consistencey and character from the lads has got to be applauded and Pat Scully has to be given alot of credit for maintaining the challenge when it would have been very easy to have thrown in the towel.

If (IF!!) we beat Waterford next Friday, the teams record since that debacle at home to Monaghan in the second series will read:

P 11 W 9 D 2 L 0 F 23 A 9 (plus whatever we score against Waterford)

Which is feckin incredible in fairness.

On last night I was delighted that:

A/ Limericks 95 fm were there and

B/ There was a massive Limerick crowd there and not just the usual lads who've traipsed the length of the country for the last few years.

Because if it was just the usual lads all you'd be listening to today is what scum Limerick fans are and none of the mitigation so that's good.

Monaghan village are terrible losers, always have been, I remember five or six of their barflys kicking off into full jostle mode 7 or 8 years ago when Brian Donnellan scored a late winner in a bottom of the table clash infront of about 70 people (for the record it was probably a handball ). Anyway the point being that Monaghan Town being bitter is absolutely nothing new.

Their stewards are tuppenny haypenny bouncers from the villages pubs/west Dublin. Their event controller is a worthless weasel of a man who gave gael353 a hug as he came into the ground and was ****ing him out of it not an hour later as he went into full on panic mode. I also told him to shift that card carrying Rovers idiot and he started mumbling ****ing me out of it about last year and how I was the cause of all the trouble last night. Cards on the table I was collared by Garda Oliphant last year for having the audacity to stop one of their bouncers hitting a youngfella. (The lesson learned here kids was to keep your nose out of other peoples business ) An absolute coward, the event controller, then spent ages stomping over and back infront of us trying to figure out what to do (at one stage he did send a phalanx of stewards to guard redron tbf) before finding his buddy Garda Oliphant to have a bit of the craic.

Garda Oliphant was picked out as one of the biggest bestest boys in Templemore and is now described as a "Football Intelligence Officer" (I kid you not) It is a title which has clearly went to his big mutton head. His behaviour last night was a disgrace. Screaming at people that they were ass holes and to shut up is nothing but antagonistic nonsense and a deliberate attempt to turn a molehill into a mountain. 100 people were having a problem with one person. Garda Oliphant decides to wade into the 100. Intelligence officer indeed.

In their any way that we could possibly get this Garda into the trouble that he seems to so desperately crave??

The accusation of racism is nothing but a disgusting smoke screen.

The lies which have been thrown around by Monaghan committee members and fans since last night are indicitave of a club completely lacking in class.

Before last nights game they let the grass grow and ploughed the field.

Their sole tactic in the first half was to maim Rory Gaffney.

They could barely muster 250 fans for what was potentially a promotion winning night.

Their stewards are gibbering apes.

Small time with a capital small.

The only thing that disapointed me at our end last night was the shift in focus of the support. For the first 20 minutes to a half hour the noise levels were easily the greatest I've ever heard from a Limerick away crowd and the best I've heard from a Limerick crowd full stop since Rathbane. When the goal went in you'd think there was thousands of Limerick fans up there. But when the "trouble" started it all got a bit disjointed and quiet. Still an epic night though.

On the pitch I thought Jeffrey Judge was superb, Behan put in a great shift, John Frost, despite what Garda Oliphant would have you believe, was easily the hardest man in the ground. Sean Kelly is a very good player, Corie coped well in the second half after a dodgy first half. Barry Ryans kick outs were driving me nuts but he pulled off a very good save in the first half. Paddy was heroic as usual and I thought in particular Shane and Stevo were excellent when they came on (although for the record Steve, I'd prefer if when clean through on goal two yards out with two minutes left you'd langer the ball in instead of flicking it!!)

Overall you couldnt really fault anyone though.

Also, this has gotten lost in the off the field mire, but how in the name of Jack Charlton was Gabriel Sava not sent off and indeed jailed for his assault on Denis Behan?!?!

[Lim till i die]

i do believe i now owe3 Limerick fans a pint. next time ye are in cork for a match send me a pm and I'll come good on my promise

You legends you!

If I go to Tolka instead of Jackman next week will you just get me the three pints??

[4tothefloor]

Last night was my first time in Monaghan and I can only say, what a shít hole. Horrible half finished ground in the middle of nowhere (half is actually being overly kind), a playing surface that resembled a dried out bog and a team of muckers who's only apparent skill was to kick and hack everything before them. What a wonderful addition this fine club could possibly be to the top tier of Irish football next season. But it doesn't end there. To add to all this fine grandeur we had a team of stewards who didn't know the meaning of the word on their jackets and a local Gardaí straight from the set of Father Ted.

The whole issue with the lads in the stand was caused by the older Garda, who has been identified as Garda Paul Oliphant. The lads up in the stand were having a bit of banter with some Mons fans who had moved over to watch the game below them at the perimeter wall. There was no real issue and if there was, the logical thing to do was to move on the Mons lads who hadn't picked the best of places to move to. This is called stewarding and event management for any of you Monaghan muck savages that may be reading this. Anyway, Garda Oliphant was watching the banter and after consulting with about two other stewards and the second younger Garda he decided to enter the upper stand area from his ground level vantage point on the Mons side of the stand. He walked up the steps and quite incredibly for a football match, told the lads in the terrace to "sit down and shut up" before finger pointing a few individuals by calling out "hey you, arsehole". The lads rightly ignored him and continued singing. He could then be clearly seen calling for backup on his walkie talkie, before walking down to the front of the stand and having a prolonged discussion with two stewards and another big guy in a beanie hat and long grey/black coat - this is when they picked out who they were going to arrest. I know because I was just below them and could hear their conversation. As soon as the back up arrived they made their moves to arrest. During this time Oliphant also watched the Shamrock Rovers fan goading and abusing the Limerick fans, yet did nothing about it. Ditto for the stewards, and the head steward actually gave his backing to the Rovers fan, which was quite amazing to watch.

1. The stewards were clueless and the head steward was especially a disgrace.
2. The stewards made no attempt to approach the lads in the stand during the banter with the Mons fans, instead they passed the buck straight to Garda Oliphant who was in his element in obliging.
3. Garda Oliphant was ignorant, abusive, condescending and completely unprofessional in his approach and subsequent handling of the situation. He caused a non-incident to escalate in to an incident, the entire issue was his doing.
4. To add insult to injury, Garda Oliphant then made serious and false accusations against the three fans arrested and also to the wider group. These allegations included intoxication, drinking in the stand and racial abuse. There was absolutely no racial abuse. Unless Garda Oliphant is thick and doesn't actually know what constitutes racial abuse, there is no defence for this disgusting accusation. To top it all off, he also threatened to break the legs of a 12 year old. A complaint should absolutely be made to the Garda Ombudsman about this sad excuse for an officer. People like him should not get near a uniform and that's what the Ombudsman is there for.

The game itself was very scrappy and was dominated by rash challenges throughout. Behan almost had his ankle broken and not long after was taken out Schumacher style by Sava, which was a nailed on red card. Denis is lucky he's a big man. Rory Gaffney was constantly hacked and chopped down all night, at least two players were booked for challenges on him. Mons created nothing apart from goalmouth scrambles from set pieces and long balls. Quinn and O'Flynn missed two great chances to wrap things up for us though. Over all a great result from a hard working performance. Pity what went on in the stands as up to that point the atmosphere was the best it has been in years. Hopefully Athlone will take something from the game next week and keep these animals down where they belong. They certainly have no place at the top table of Irish football!