15 January 1998 Edition
Sportsview: Standing room only?
I'm going to break one of my rules this week and write about English football. The recent controversy at Old Trafford threw up an old argument in regards to terracing at football stadiams.
In Sunday's excellent The Title sports paper the issue was raised again. Manchester Utd fans came into conflict with power-crazy stewards after standing during home games. A campaign was started to have the right to stand up at games. The campaign is now over. Fans agreed to sit down if the stewards backed down. A chance to highlight and take the issue further was lost. So what is wrong with standing at football stadiums?
After the Taylor Report which came out of the Hillsborough Football Disaster most of the big clubs, quite rightly, came down in favour of public safety, which led to all-seater stadiums.
On reflection however, I can see nothing wrong with safe terracing at football stadiums. Terracing has, since football was organised, been the domain of the common man (and, to a lesser extent, woman). After Hillsborough there was a steady conversion from terracing to (according to writer Richard Kurt, writing about the changes at `Merchandise Utd' in the Sunday Tribune) ``an increasing bourgeois-family-values constituency of newcomers dominates three of its four stands, where they cower in respectful semi-silence as if watching some middlebrow drama at a provincial playhouse''.
`Fans' have now become `customers'. Even Lansdowne Road during Ireland games is missing the `fizz' provided by the large working-class support. I'm sure a large majority of fans at most clubs in Scotland and England will welcome the return of the terrace, providing safety is adhered to and they are constructed properly. They are also cheaper than seats and cheaper to maintain.
The campaign at Man Utd could have started the ball rolling, taking a small step in reclaiming the game from the market men and financiers.
FAI Cup
Last weekend saw the first round of the FAI Cup. No great surprises, with most of the senior sides going through. The draw for the second round was made with the tie of the round being the meeting of Cork City and Derry City.
I'm backing Derry all the way in this one after the Leesiders knocked out Bohemians in the first round. Dundalk and Shelbourne meet in the other big fixture, with Shels going for their third cup success in a row. I think they'll win this one. First Division underdogs St Francis play either Sligo or non-league Mervue Utd. Galway Utd meet Finn Harps in a `sort of' derby in the west.
While on soccer I see Paul Cascoigne did the right thing and apologised for imitating one of Ulster's finest by pretending to play an Orange flute. ``I would like to unreservedly apologise for my actions during the match at Celtic Park last week,'' he said. He was also slapped with a £20,000 fine by the club, to be donated to charity. Good lad Paul, and not a tear in sight.
GAA roundup
The world of GAA got back on the road last Sunday with various provincial cups up for grabs. It was also one of the first outings for the GAA's new experimental rules, with changes in relation to the pick-up, fouling, number of subs, the solo run, the `mark', fisted passes, and the ref.
In Leinster the O'Byrne Cup ties were played between Westmeath and Kilkenny, with Westmeath running out easy winners. Dublin started off the new year under Tommy Carr with a one-sided rout of Laois at St Margaret's. Hopefully a sign of better things to come in the Championship. In Munster the McGrath Cup saw Clare dispose of Limerick and Waterford defeat Tipperary by a point.
In Sunday's excellent The Title sports paper the issue was raised again. Manchester Utd fans came into conflict with power-crazy stewards after standing during home games. A campaign was started to have the right to stand up at games. The campaign is now over. Fans agreed to sit down if the stewards backed down. A chance to highlight and take the issue further was lost. So what is wrong with standing at football stadiums?
After the Taylor Report which came out of the Hillsborough Football Disaster most of the big clubs, quite rightly, came down in favour of public safety, which led to all-seater stadiums.
On reflection however, I can see nothing wrong with safe terracing at football stadiums. Terracing has, since football was organised, been the domain of the common man (and, to a lesser extent, woman). After Hillsborough there was a steady conversion from terracing to (according to writer Richard Kurt, writing about the changes at `Merchandise Utd' in the Sunday Tribune) ``an increasing bourgeois-family-values constituency of newcomers dominates three of its four stands, where they cower in respectful semi-silence as if watching some middlebrow drama at a provincial playhouse''.
`Fans' have now become `customers'. Even Lansdowne Road during Ireland games is missing the `fizz' provided by the large working-class support. I'm sure a large majority of fans at most clubs in Scotland and England will welcome the return of the terrace, providing safety is adhered to and they are constructed properly. They are also cheaper than seats and cheaper to maintain.
The campaign at Man Utd could have started the ball rolling, taking a small step in reclaiming the game from the market men and financiers.
FAI Cup
Last weekend saw the first round of the FAI Cup. No great surprises, with most of the senior sides going through. The draw for the second round was made with the tie of the round being the meeting of Cork City and Derry City.
I'm backing Derry all the way in this one after the Leesiders knocked out Bohemians in the first round. Dundalk and Shelbourne meet in the other big fixture, with Shels going for their third cup success in a row. I think they'll win this one. First Division underdogs St Francis play either Sligo or non-league Mervue Utd. Galway Utd meet Finn Harps in a `sort of' derby in the west.
While on soccer I see Paul Cascoigne did the right thing and apologised for imitating one of Ulster's finest by pretending to play an Orange flute. ``I would like to unreservedly apologise for my actions during the match at Celtic Park last week,'' he said. He was also slapped with a £20,000 fine by the club, to be donated to charity. Good lad Paul, and not a tear in sight.
GAA roundup
The world of GAA got back on the road last Sunday with various provincial cups up for grabs. It was also one of the first outings for the GAA's new experimental rules, with changes in relation to the pick-up, fouling, number of subs, the solo run, the `mark', fisted passes, and the ref.
In Leinster the O'Byrne Cup ties were played between Westmeath and Kilkenny, with Westmeath running out easy winners. Dublin started off the new year under Tommy Carr with a one-sided rout of Laois at St Margaret's. Hopefully a sign of better things to come in the Championship. In Munster the McGrath Cup saw Clare dispose of Limerick and Waterford defeat Tipperary by a point.