Boundary between football and politics

[NEWSWEETTOFFEE]

In England, FA had problems about wearing poppies on shirt, and in Serbia they have problem with existence of Football Federation of Kosovo. So, where should politics end and football start?

Interestingly, in May 2014. Niasse scored two goals for Senegal against Kosovo in a FIFA recognized friendly match.

 

[Huyton Layne]

They can't separate the two otherwise Israel would play with its own continent and there'd be murder ever game

 

[silent bob]

Can we play Kosovo every week?

 

[LEONARD]

Everything in life is political. Sport and football are no exceptions.

Trying to opt out of this reality is a political 'act' in itself.

 

[davek]

It's easy to avoid in the Premier League: Two teams turn up and play a match. No pre-game announcements other than the teams read out; no wearing of any armbands on any occasion; no flags or banners.

Oh...just like years ago in fact.

 

[SailorBlue]

Derry City play in the Republic instead of Northern Ireland.

Also why can't there be one Irish team. The Rugby team don't seem to have a problem?

Religious bigotry wins out in football.

 

[ToffeeTim]

Derry City play in the Republic instead of Northern Ireland.

Also why can't there be one Irish team. The Rugby team don't seem to have a problem?

Religious bigotry wins out in football.

Without wanting to be political I feel a little history is in order. There was one irish team prior to partition. It was ran by the IFA who now govern NI football. The FAI only exists because they decided to leave the IFA and set up there own team and governing body. Hence why the Northern Irish premier is officially the "Irish league".

I support NI at football and Ireland at rugby. That's just the way it is here. I'm not against the idea of an all Ireland football team at all. But there is baggage that doesn't exist in rugby and I'm not sure those involved in administrating the game are mature enough to run the game on an island wide basis like rugby. But that's all a totally different debate lol

 

[roydo]

It's easy to avoid in the Premier League: Two teams turn up and play a match. No pre-game announcements other than the teams read out; no wearing of any armbands on any occasion; no flags or banners.

Oh...just like years ago in fact.

Remember having a minutes silence years ago, routinely ruined back then, and that was that.

 

[davek]

Remember having a minutes silence years ago, routinely ruined back then, and that was that.

Old story about a minutes silence after Kennedy was assassinated (so it must go back at least as far as then) and the minute silence was ruined by some member of the Liverpool Communist Party shouting "long live Khrushchev".

Moral of the story: don't do them.

 

[roydo]

Old story about a minutes silence after Kennedy was assassinated (so it must go back at least as far as then) and the minute silence was ruined by some member of the Liverpool Communist Party shouting "long live Khrushchev".

Moral of the story: don't do them.

Maybe we have all grown up a bit. Dont mind them, but the frequency outside of "big" events is a tad OTT these days, imo.

 

[davek]

Maybe we have all grown up a bit. Dont mind them, but the frequency outside of "big" events is a tad OTT these days, imo.

There's also the other way of looking at this: you could actually argue that linking the football industry into a tragedy is to diminish the poignancy or suffering of those immediately affected.

Football should avoid anything like this - it's a sport and should be isolated from politics and religion and celebrities and wars.

 

[roydo]

There's also the other way of looking at this: you could actually argue that linking the football industry into a tragedy is to diminish the poignancy or suffering of those immediately affected.

Football should avoid anything like this - it's a sport and should be isolated from politics and religion and celebrities and wars.

Think we are way too far down that road now.

If you wanted, you could probably identify almost any team rivalry/bitterness, domestic and international, being somehow linked to 3 of of those 4.

 

[Khalekan]

I remember when Bertie Aherne was PM in the Republic, he publicly castigated the GAA for voting to keep the rule which prohibited members of the British Army and RUC from participating in games under their auspices.

He said "politics must be kept out of sport" and threatened the GAA with some sort of economic sanction....I think it was to withhold government grants toward the re-development of Croker (though I couldn't swear on that).

Fine.....I agreed with repealing that antiquated law as the ceasefire and Peace Process was taking root.

But a few weeks later the Serbian national team were in Dublin for either a World Cup or Euro qualifier and Bertie very publicly refused to attend the game on account of the Kosovo situation lol

So much fir keeping politics out of sport.

 

[Armaghtoffee]

Without wanting to be political I feel a little history is in order. There was one irish team prior to partition. It was ran by the IFA who now govern NI football. The FAI only exists because they decided to leave the IFA and set up there own team and governing body. Hence why the Northern Irish premier is officially the "Irish league"

The FAI exists due to the Irish war of independence, our own country leads to our own team. It wasn't just a decision to leave so to speak.

In purely footballing terms, an All-Ireland team, as in rugby, would certainly move the Island forward up the FIFA rankings.

The unified support for Irish rugby does show what can be achieved.

 

[davek]

Think we are way too far down that road now.

If you wanted, you could probably identify almost any team rivalry/bitterness, domestic and international, being somehow linked to 3 of of those 4.

Impossible to do it for national teams...and yes, teams in conflicted societies. Outside of the Old Firm though, football in this country could stamp it out.