Linfield V St Pats

[Bilk]

Apr 16, 2008 8:53:28 GMT @setanta said:

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/7349649.stm
Six people have been arrested at Linfield's match in Dublin against St Pat's Athletic following a number of crowd trouble incidents.

Gardai said the arrests were connected to isolated incidents at the Setanta Cup match, which Linfield lost 2-0.

Four of those arrested come from Northern Ireland while two are from the Republic. Gardai said minor scuffles broke out at the ground in Inchicore.

Dog units, mounted officers and gardai brought the trouble under control.

Linfield chairman Jim Kerr said he "utterly condemned" the behaviour and added that "the name of Linfield Football Club had been dragged through the gutter".

"Some fans with far too much to drink had tickets that were not sold to them and I don't know where they got those tickets and whether they were forged or genuine.

"Alcohol was the problem and there were people here who were spoiling for a fight.

"Some people whom I have never seen at Windsor Park were being aggressive towards fellow supporters, safety officers and the Garda.

"Should we continue in the Setanta Cup next season, we will have to look at transporting our supporters from Windsor Park and make sure they get to the ground without incident. There will be no unorganised travel.

"Everything will be organised by the club but we will have to look seriously at whether we will continue in the Setanta Cup because I don't want the name of Linfield being dragged through the gutter as it has been tonight."

The Setanta Cup is an All-Ireland football tournament, which is contested by four clubs from both sides of the border.

It is in its fourth year and Linfield have played in the competition on each occasion, winning the event in its inaugural year and losing in the final last year.

I saw this in todays Daily Mirror, they take a slightly different slant on it. Their version of events was that some Linfield fans took offense at being searched, and a ruck started with the Garda.
I think that's where they made their mistake. No one messes with the gards. Their are no enquiries, no umbudsman, no nothing and rightly so. If they had nothing to hide then why complain. And I speak as a Linfield fan, these people bring nothing but griefe to the club who are trying very hard, and largely succeeding, to keep sectarianism out of their sport.

[Harry]

Thats the Bluemen for you ;D ;D When you having a lying toerag of a manager it can affect some supporters

[earl]

Looks like something blown out of proportions. Linfield chairman Jim Kerr has made all the right sounds and it's very clear that this behaviour is not tolerated by the club. I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't a few St. Pat's fans that started it. There's some scummy 'when I grow up, I want to be a hooligan' element to that club. I remember seeing a video of St. Pats and Boes fans going at each other (and any parked cars) outside of the Hill 16 pub on Gardnier St.

[Jim]

Shit happens, eh?

[earl]

There's no messing with the Gardaí. You step out of line, you get fcuked up.

[Bilk]

Apr 16, 2008 17:18:43 GMT earl said:

There's no messing with the Gardaí. You step out of line, you get fcuked up.

My thoughts eaxatly and good luck to em

[earl]

Three charged over Linfield v St Pats trouble

Three men appeared in court this evening charged in connection with disturbances at last night's Setanta Sports Cup match between Linfield and St. Patrick's Athletic at Richmond Park in Dublin.

48-year-old Robert Ervin from Glencairn Pass in Belfast, 30-year-old William Rankin with an address at Alexander Park in Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim and 35-year-old Stephen Smith from Carnhill Walk, also in Carrickfergus, were charged with various offences under the Public Order Act.

All three were remanded on bail to reappear at Kilmainham District Court on the 14th of May.

[earl]

Ugly face of football as violence flares at cross-border clash

UGLY scenes involving visiting fans overshadowed the visit of Marco Tardelli to Richmond Park for the Setanta Cup clash between St Patrick's Athletic and Linfield last night.

Some members of the large group of Linfield supporters who travelled from Belfast clashed with gardai and were escorted from the ground before kick-off as a heavy security presence descended on Inchicore for the eagerly anticipated encounter.

A contingency plan had been devised before kick-off to remove the possibility of any contact between the opposing groups at the final whistle, with the Dublin club's supporters kept in the ground until all the Linfield fans had been escorted out.

The Emmet Road in Inchicore was closed to facilitate this and to prevent non-Saints supporters from being in a position to target the visitors from the North. Garda intelligence had suggested that outside groups not affiliated to the Eircom League club were the most likely aggressors.

Tardelli was oblivious to any hassle as he took his place in the directors box shortly before kick-off and posed for photos.

The new Irish assistant manager to Giovanni Trapattoni is currently in Dublin improving his command of the English language and took the opportunity to take in a St Pat's side which currently is top of the Eircom League table.

In particular, he would have been looking at twice capped Irish international Joe O'Cearuill and recently awarded player of the month for March Keith Fahey who was again commanding in the centre of the park for John McDonnell's side.

The extremely lively encounter provided plenty of football talking points but unfortunately the headlines will be grabbed by unsavoury incidents with nothing to do with the game.




www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/ugly-face-of-football-as-violence-flares-at-crossborder-clash-1349190.html?start=4

Take a look at some of the comments from people who were at the game:
"

I am not a Linfield or Pats fan, but I was at the game and it was played in a very sporting spirit. Both sets of fans behaved themselves very well and supported their teams with passion. I didn't see a hint of trouble inside or outside the ground. I suspect that the article misrepresents a great sporting occassion.

Posted by Donal | 16.04.08, 14:05 GMT
"

Or how about this one:



I didn't realise Ben from Lost was a football fan

Posted by RG | 16.04.08, 13:57 GMT




;D ;D

[earl]

It's a paper that loves to sensationalise any north-south issues. This ain't the first time, and it sure won't be the last.