Originally Posted by geysir
Given all that's happening, this is disappointingly glib.
You don’t know how lucky you are boy!
Given all that's happening, this is disappointingly glib.
Hello, hello? What's going on? What's all this shouting, we'll have no trouble here!
- E Tattsyrup.
Ah shucks EG, that sounds so corny, faux outrage, don't read so much into it.
Don't mind me, half of what I say is meaningless!
Folding my way into the big money!!!
I see FIFA have disgraced themselves again, by saying they will move the Russian game to neutral venue! cheers you corrupt scum bags!
We should salute Poland, Sweden and the Czech republic for not tolerating this.
It's not neither faux, nor outrage, just disappointment. There's a time and place for levity, maybe not just now.
I appreciate you're trying to be helpful... but... um... which half? Help a fella out, like.
In fairness, you both have a better moral compass than FIFA.
Hello, hello? What's going on? What's all this shouting, we'll have no trouble here!
- E Tattsyrup.
https://www.breakingnews.ie/sport/ir...e-1266054.html
Fair play.. its a small thing but they all count
You can always count on FIFA to do the right thing... once they've exhausted all other possibilities: https://www.bbc.com/sport/athletics/60560567
Ukraine have asked for their World Cup tie with Scotland to be postponed.
We're due to play them twice in June. It's not impossible now that those games don't go ahead as scheduled.
If things remain much as they are now in western Ukraine, I'd encourage the FAI and the players to go ahead with both games. Things still seem quiet enough in Lviv, and it would be a chance to give Ukrainians a boost.
They could stay in Poland and go in and out for the country for the game.
Bring Back Belfast Celtic F.C.
Bear in mind part of the reason they're asking for a postponement is because they have a lot of players in the domestic league, which is now abandoned because Putin's a *****.
It's a bit unfair to ask them to play a game of football when (a) they mayn't have played club games or even trained for three months and (b) they're taking up arms to beat off an invasion by a foreign power.
Bigger picture thinking is needed here I think.
yes, Ukraines matches should only proceed for the foreseeable future if they want it themselves. It would be impossible for them to play in the current circumstances
I'd imagine that by June the Ukrainian FA and Ukrainian football fans will want nothing more.
It would be impossible to play in Kyiv, but there's a perfectly good stadium there in Lviv where things are largely peaceful.
Things are certainly more peaceful in Lviv today than they were in Belfast when we went there in November 1993. Of course that could change by June, but if the Ukrainian FA want to play the game, I'd say the FAI should start making preparations to base themselves over the border in Kraków and fulfil the fixture.
And if things change at short notice I imagine the Polish FA and Ukrainian FA would all be prepared to host the game at and Wisła Kraków's stadium.
If the Ukrainians want to postpone I'd obviously have no problem with that, but if they want to play we should be prepared to move heaven and earth to fulfil the fixture.
Last edited by backstothewall; 04/03/2022 at 11:01 AM.
Bring Back Belfast Celtic F.C.
The Ukrainian FA right now don't want that. They're the ones asking for a postponement, and the main reason given is that domestic football is off. Their players can't prepare for an international football game when they're holed up in bunkers firing AK-47s at Russian teenagers.
Putin has stated his aim is to take over the whole of Ukraine, and there's worries about him moving further west into Moldova and maybe even Poland/Latvia/Lithuania. You can't say Lviv is fine now and sure we can play there in three months' time. (I don't think he has the resources - with sanctions - to drag things out for three months to be honest, but that's a separate matter)
And seriously, I can think of plenty of things Ukrainians want more than a game of football right now, or things they'd rather see us move heaven and earth to achieve.
Seriously, perspective here. People are being bombed for no reason, in the knowledge that foreign powers can't help because it could very well trigger nuclear war, and all you can think of is a ****ing game of football?
Last edited by pineapple stu; 04/03/2022 at 11:33 AM.
I deleted my original post to step away and try and get some perspective before posting again.
I genuinely can't believe what you've written. the 'situation' is one of despair, and there is talk of public executions in the coming days, across the country.
The only thing giving the Ukrainians a 'boost', will be survival. And I can't stress that enough.
I'm flabbergasted
Here they come! It’s the charge of the “Thanks” Brigade!
Exactly.
I'm seeing the genuine concern at what potentially is unfolding there on daily basis. We're looking at potential famine in Ukraine, and elsewhere next year, because of the impact of this invasion. Nobody seems to realise the reliance on Russian and Ukraine cheap primary produce by some of the poorest African nations.
Even allowing/ignoring that, no insurance company in the world would provide cover to travel there for a sports team
Here they come! It’s the charge of the “Thanks” Brigade!
I'm capable of thinking of more than one thing at a time. I also think the defence forces should be sending them whatever they can spare, but the FAI won't have many rocket launchers knocking about, and this doesn't seem like the place to criticise the government for not doing more to help. The FAI do football, so the most they can possibly do is help deliver a soft-power defeat to Putin.
Having an international football team is one of the things that can define a nation. A Ukrainian international football match, at a time when Russia are trying to snuff out Ukrainian nationhood, and have been more or less banished from international sport, would be a defeat for Putin and his kleptocratic regime. Particularly if it could be done within the boundaries of Ukraine.
Although the match practice issue for the domestic players has given me a thought. Given that all visa requirements have been dropped for Ukrainians to visit Ireland, and that the League of Ireland is only 3 games in, a squad of players could come to Dublin and compete in the League of Ireland for the year.
I am very aware that the Ukrainian people face a desperate situation. That millions will without the basic needs for survival. But people need more than food and water to survive.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2...ur-best-lives/
- Food
- Water
- Shelter
- Sleep
- Others
- Novelty
The FAI can help with the last 2.
Bring Back Belfast Celtic F.C.
backs - stop talking. Seriously.
Could we invite Ukrainian players over to play in the LoI? What sort of crap is that? Their focus is on defending their homeland. Football is not important right now. Football is not the be all and end all - that really shouldn't be a tricky concept to grasp.
The FAI can help out with "Other" and "Novelty"? Those needs are utterly irrelevant when there's a fight on for food/water - and survival. Actually living through another day. If you spend your day focussing on basic needs, the more mundane ones become irrelevant.
Do you think Ukrainians would really be interested in watching a football game right now? Sleeping in underground stations, seeing reports of the genocidal Russians coming ever closer, hearing the bombs outside, wondering if family and friends and homes are ok or are blown to smithereens? Wondering how long all this will go on for? Wondering where your next meal is going to come from?
Again - perspective is needed here.
Edit - backstothewall, not benno!
Last edited by pineapple stu; 04/03/2022 at 1:35 PM.
We have absolutely no way of knowing what the situation will be in June. The invasion only started about a week and a half ago. Assuming the western part of Ukraine to be "quiet enough" in three months time may just be wishful thinking.
By June, it could be anything from a Russian retreat due to international pressure (unlikely, I think) to a total capitulation of Ukraine or even an escalation of the conflict beyond Ukrainian territory. Or a protracted standoff along a front line somewhere in Ukraine. It's impossible to predict, but most of the possible scenarios don't look suitable for an international football match.
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