Sport and politics are uneasy bedfellows

There was a time when sport was played for fun and self-entertainment and for the entertainment of the handful and sometimes more, people who might come to support and enjoy. Team games could occasionally become fractious and it was not unknown for a few punches to be thrown in what the great Micheál O Hehir would refer to as 'a shemozzle'.

Sometimes, and it is fair to say not very often, that shemozzle might extend to the sideline and handbags, in the metaphorical sense, could be thrown. For the most part that friction was enjoyed by the supporters. After the game players shook hands and often enough repaired to the pub where the game was replayed several times over but always without altering the result. Even the referee would generally escape unharmed although the question of his eyesight and occasionally his genetics could be a matter of debate.

They were innocent times. Filthy lucre had yet to raise its head and black people were such a rarity in the country that there was no such thing as racism. Certainly not in sport. Paul McGrath came along and joined Big Jack Charlton’s squad of World Cup footballers. Paul was black but he was Irish. He was accepted not just as a brilliant soccer player but as one of our own.

The fact that he was fond of a pint and was not always as fit as he might be did not diminish him in the eyes of the public. In fact it made him more endearing. Ireland was a wonderful place to be in the late 1980s and ‘90s. The same can’t be said of today. Although there are many people of colour playing football for Ireland, racism has reared its ugly head in recent times. Not just here but abroad.

Brazilian player Vinicius Junior plays for Real Madrid in Spain and in a recent game versus Benfica he was subjected to racial abuse by an opponent. Having seen, thanks to the wonders of television, the way in which Vinicius Junior celebrated his goal, all I can say is that there is something sad about a game when grown men behave in the fashion that Vinicius Junior did. It was not surprising that he generated a reaction. The pity was that he did not get a clatter in the gob, which would have been deserved, rather than be subjected to racial abuse. But that’s life in the glittering world of overpaid superstars.

Here, we have the horrendous case of racism arising around Corkman Edwin Edogbo who made his debut for the Irish rugby team, off the bench, in the recent Six Nations international against Italy. Edogbo is a giant of a man and is being hailed, in the media and by the Munster rugby fraternity, as a potential saviour of an international side on the slide from greatness to mediocrity. That’s a heavy load for any young man to carry but it is nothing compared to the racist abuse that followed his debut.

For our keyboard warriors sport is not fun, it is an opportunity to spread their vile racist agenda. These fellows (and it is 99 per cent males) probably know nothing about rugby and if Edwin’s surname was O’Donoghue they probably would not have noticed. But the fact that he was Edogbo was sufficient to set them off on their various rants. We are rapidly developing into a sad country and unfortunately nothing will be done to curb the racists.

Sport and politics are uneasy bedfellows. In an ideal world politics should stay out of sport but we do not exist in an ideal world. Unfortunately, sport requires financial support and when crowds attending games do not provide adequate resources then governments are invited in to provide taxpayers money to make up the shortfall. And sporting organisations then become subject to political whims and opportunist politicians are quick to seize opportunities to embarrass and criticise.

The GAA has had an alliance with Allianz for more than thirty years. Allianz sponsors the GAA’s national leagues and gets very little return for its support of the competition which is unfairly regarded by team managers and supporters as a Mickey Mouse competition and only preparation for the championships. Allianz has recently been named in a United Nations report as being involved in sustaining the Israeli Attack Forces in Gaza.

In the face of the genocide that continues in Gaza, it is understandable that GAA players and clubs have called on the association to cut the connection with Allianz. The big wigs in the GAA met and decided that their contract with Allianz, which runs to 2030, could not be broken without serious consequences. Financial considerations took precedence over the plight of the Palestinians. (Now don’t let anybody tell me that the German insurance giant is going to sue the GAA minnow for breach of contract. Bull.) 

By the way, there is a lot of preoccupation among politicians with the Occupied Territories Bill and the need to enact it so that trade with Israel can be curbed. Those who are jumping up and down to get the Bill enacted could do something useful themselves by introducing their own ban. I can’t be bothered with Jaffa oranges. If enough people were to boycott Jaffa oranges it won’t stop the Israeli war machine but it would send a message. I have been using Teva medication this past while, not being aware of the Israeli connection. Now, I’ve advised my pharmacy to find an alternative to Teva. These are small steps but at least it is action of some sort and beats jumping up and down.

The Football Association of Ireland have their own problems having been drawn to play Israel in the Nations Cup. The soccer grassroots decided that if drawn against Israel, Ireland would not play. That decision has been ignored by the FAI who argue that they are compelled to play by UEFA who have charge of the competition and failing to fulfil the fixture would have dire consequences.

What those consequences might be have not been spelled out but, no more than the GAA and Allianz, any sanction by UEFA would have to be measured, appropriate and proportionate. By making an example of the FAI, as some commentators fear, EUFA would do themselves more harm than good.

The game should not be played. That’s easy for me to say but it would be the right decision. Some politicians have got in on the act and have not exactly covered themselves in glory but fair play to Joanna Byrne, chairperson of Drogheda United, she has stuck to her guns opposing the playing of the games. She is a Sinn Féin TD. Sinn Féin, unlike the Taoiseach Micheál Martin, has come out in support of a boycott of the games.

Micheál is a great man for compromise. He is of the view that the games should go ahead as UEFA has decreed. UEFA is the European authority on football promotion and adheres to the principles of integrity, fair play and solidarity. UEFA, just as our EU masters (sorry, partners), must be obeyed. It would be interesting if UEFA were to insist that Ireland’s home game should be played in the Aviva Stadium in September/October, smack bang in the middle of Ireland’s Presidency of the EU.

Such a fixture would give the Irish people the opportunity to show their support for the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank. Micheál would quickly discover that he is out of touch with the people. He would also discover that he does not have the manpower to police such an event. While protestors may protest peacefully there will be elements, local and imported, who will incite violence to pursue agendas that have nothing to do with football and less to do with Gaza. It’s an appalling vista.