Sectarianism – A one way street on the island of Ireland?

The issue of sectarianism within Northern Irish football has long been the talking point on the Island of Ireland, whether it be the avid football supporter, the casual follower or those outside the footballing family, including certain elements of the media.

Despite the Irish FA and its supporters winning numerous awards and commendations from near and far alike in recent years, stories continually are regaled of a fixture that took place over two decades ago when the Republic of Ireland visited Windsor Park in 1993, which is in no thanks to the likes of Marie Jones who exaggerated details of the events that night in order to suit the tale she wanted to tell in her play ‘A Night in November’.

In 2002, over a decade ago, Northern Ireland fans further faced shame as a result of the despicable events that unfolded around Neil Lennon, while in more recent times they have been castigated following the stupidity of a small minority who decided to have a sectarian singsong in the Aviva stadium during the Carling Cup fixture against Scotland.

It is worth noting that in recent times Lennon himself has noted that Northern Ireland fans ’have made the atmosphere at Northern Ireland football games in recent years the envy of Fans across not only Europe but World Football’.

While instances such as those bad times in the history of Northern Irish football listed above are played out time and time again in our local media, the lack of similar stories in regards to the FAI and their supporters would appear to indicate that the problem of sectarianism only exists in Northern Ireland.

A quick search of the internet would appear to show this is not the case however, with various videos showing supporters in Republic of Ireland shirts walking through the streets of Poland during the last European Championships shouting chants in support of the IRA, accompanied by the line ‘F*ck the Queen’.

Inside of the ground the issue of sectarianism has also been evident, not least in the old Lansdowne Road in the year 2000 during a fixture against Scotland, with several Rangers players booed relentlessly each time they touched the ball. Other players to suffer such treatment were Tore Andre Flo, Shota Arveladze and Peter Lovenkrands. Peter Madsen of Denmark also came in for the same persecution, when almost comically he was mistaken by the Republic of Ireland fans for Lovenkrands, due to an error by the stadium announcer when a substitution was made.

Over the last week a story exposing what some would deem as sectarianism at the highest ranks of the FAI itself has been bubbling away quite publicly on various social media outlets, with a video clip appearing allegedly showing the FAI Chief Executive, John Delaney, singing a song glorifying a number of IRA terrorists. This included among them a member of the IRA who has been linked to the Kingmills massacre of 1976, in which 10 Protestant workmen were lined up and murdered.

To the surprise of many the media in the North and South of the border have largely stayed clear of the matter, with the story only breaking today (25^th November), thanks to the Irish Times. Why this has been the case is largely unclear, although it has also been reported that in an attempt to cover up this undoubted embarrassment to them, the FAI through their lawyers had denied it was in fact Delaney and they would begin legal proceedings if the details were published.

As an even further embarrassment to the FAI, Delaney has now acknowledged it was indeed him in the video that took centre stage when belting out the song that is sure to disgust many across the whole island, while rumours are also circulating that former Republic of Ireland internationals Denis Irwin, Kevin Kilbane & Ronnie Whelan were also in attendance at the event in the The Bath public house. There is no suggestion that these players were involved in the singing themselves.

What happens next in terms of the steps the FAI take will be interesting to observe, as many cannot see how the Association can escape with their integrity intact unless Delaney is removed from his position with immediate effect. Indeed, anything less than that will leave the FAI in a difficult position to deal with any hints of further sectarianism by their supporters, if they cannot deal with the issue within their own ranks.

The question will also be left open as to whether the Association is truly open to all sides of the community and whether they are a proponent of the inclusivity that sport on both sides of this island should be seeking to achieve.

From a Northern Ireland supporters’ perspective, it will also be interesting to view the reaction of the Northern Irish media to the events, especially given the coverage the likes of UTV gave to a small subset of the Northern Irish supporters who disgraced their fellow fans when engaging in their sectarian garbage at the Aviva Stadium in the recent past.

Will the pages of the Belfast Telegraph make difficult reading from those within the FAI over the next few days, especially given the approach journalist Amanda Poole took to linking Northern Ireland fans to the so-called ‘death threats’ made on Twitter to James McClean?

What is clear to many however is that if the wider public had just witnessed Patrick Nelson, Delaney’s opposite number in the IFA, performing a rendition glorifying those who caused carnage on the streets of Dublin in 1974, his feet would not touch the ground when being ushered out the back door at Windsor Avenue, with the media ensuring that was the case.