Ever been to Poland...

[Tipp Townie]

..for a competitive fixture? I'm not sure about LOI in Europe, but the only 'competitive' internationals (ever) i can think of are the Euro '92 qualifiers.

Just wondering coz alot of my England-supporting mates are talking about there being no-way of them travelling for the upcoming match, the insinuation being that it can get a bit hairy i guess. Has anyone here ever experienced trouble travelling as an Irish supporter? Or do you think its more the kind of reception that England fans get no matter where they travel?

[max power]

no........

[an 'rock']

Are you employed by Adam to keep foot.ie alive?

[max power]

no.........

[czarner]

I lived in Poland (in a city called Bydgoszcz)for the last nine months, and visited a few cities while I was there, and they were certainly no more dangerous or scary than Dublin.

[tricky_colour]

I lived in Poland (in a city called Bydgoszcz)for the last nine months, and visited a few cities while I was there, and they were certainly no more dangerous or scary than Dublin.

So you would advise against them going then.....?

[gspain]

I was there in 91 for our qualifier and the U21 game which saw them reach Barcelona - Poznan & Bydgoszcz - no problems at all apart from the big price difference in our ticket parices and the locals (we paid a few quid they paid a few pence).

However England away is a very different prospect to Ireland away and Poland does have a hooliganism problem at club level. No doubt some will fancy their chances against the English boys so even English fans not looking for trouble could be caught up in it.

[czarner]

However England away is a very different prospect to Ireland away and Poland does have a hooliganism problem at club level. No doubt some will fancy their chances against the English boys so even English fans not looking for trouble could be caught up in it.

Yeah, actually, that's true. Most Poles I knew had little or no interest in football and it's widely regarded as a thug's game there due to the hooliganism problem. You can even buy A5 football hooligan magazines in the major chain store newsagents there. The country is relatively safe for the general tourist but for English football fans, it could be a different story.

[eoinh]

there are a good few polish posters on foot.ie believe it or not.

They concentrate mostly on the foot.ie prediction game. Cinek is one.

[green goblin]

Only time I went to Poland was for a wedding. A friend from Brum married a Polish girl. A load of us went over together, and we all had a great time. Polish people, I found, were very friendly and liked a drink and a laugh and were nothing like the grim Easteners we all (stereotypically) too them to be.

The only down moment was when a car wound it's window down and a party of youths shouted whatever Polish is for n*gger, or some such charming term of endearment, to an elderly friend of the family who had the nerve to be visibly West Indian. Only time in my sheltered life I've seen it happen.
But then you get tw*ts wherever you go, I s'pose.

Although some Ingerland fans appear keen to get-it-on with anyone, the Poles, I've always assumed, have 'issues' with some countries more than others. Ireland's not one of them. Hey, we're Ireland, ffs! Why wouldn't they love us??