Laois v Armagh - NFL Round 5 - Sunday 18th March

[ONeill]

The Dromid PR machine are to issue a statement tomorrow.

[johnpower]

Must compliment Armagh players who kept at it desPite strange sending off.league referees are poor as they seem to be following some strange instructions at this time of year.makeover needs to keep calmer as he seems to be a marked man but he will have to live with it. Should be a good match with down

[lawnseed]

Its not an isolated incident.. the Kerry fans give wild abuse at Armagh players calling them Brits

I'm going to league and championship matches all over Ireland for the guts of 40 years now and I have never ever heard this type of stuff directed at me.....as a matter of fact if I was to ask my club mates tomorrow night at a committee meeting if they have ever encountered this type of stuff I would be 100% positive that the response would be no.

The poor Armagh boys seem to be singled out by them big bold boys from the Free State

ironically the only time i heard abuse from fans at any game was from down men in clones singing something about what we could do with our apples etc.. they hadnt much singing when oisin bagged 2:7

[machaman]

Funny enough this sort of anti northerner abuse does happen. I was umpiring for a club I play for in Dublin in the league. The opposition goalie and umpire both gave the whole nine yards for being a Brit etc. I threatened to report it and was promptly apologised to. Turns out the umpire has an All Ireland football medal for the dubs!! While the apology was sincere I was utterly shocked at the behaviour. I have played in dublin for 12 yrs now and this was the only, but serious, abuse I got.

Justin mcnulty has let himself down badly if it turns out that Sheehan incited any sort of anti northern sentiment. He is inexperienced and probably out of his depth. This is the sort of thing along with the standard of refereeing that needs to be looked at in hq.

Saddened.

[screenexile]

While it shouldn't happen I know, how stupid would you have to be to get riled up at someone singing GSTQ at you . . .who gives a f**k!

[omagh_gael]

Did the star identify their source for this story?

[naka]

Its not an isolated incident.. the Kerry fans give wild abuse at Armagh players calling them Brits

I'm going to league and championship matches all over Ireland for the guts of 40 years now and I have never ever heard this type of stuff directed at me.....as a matter of fact if I was to ask my club mates tomorrow night at a committee meeting if they have ever encountered this type of stuff I would be 100% positive that the response would be no.

The poor Armagh boys seem to be singled out by them big bold boys from the Free State

have to say 5sams you would be in the minority there
have heard a lot of abuse over the years

as an aside the issue armagh have is the selective punishment by the referee
there were other incidents in the tunnel at half time but yet again mc keever was singled out
i thought the laois county board was weak " we investigated and found no evidence of any racial abuse" it was sectarian not racial

[screenexile]

I played in Dublin for a couple of years and got all sorts from "Nordie p***k" "Orange bastard" "f**k off back to england" and stuff of a similar vein.

I'm still very surprised that a man of McKeever's calibre who is so important to this Armagh team would let himself get dragged down to that level. I mean it's not like he doesn't engage in the verbals himself from time to time and given the fact he always gets singled out he would be better to put his head down until Championship time!

[Tony Baloney]

While it shouldn't happen I know, how stupid would you have to be to get riled up at someone singing GSTQ at you . . .who gives a f**k!

+1.

Whoever called this "racial abuse" should take a reddener. "Racist" GAA will be all over BBC etc.

[Applesisapples]

I could laugh at the comments from some of the Down lads on here. They would take references to there Britishness as a badge of honour and most likely would join in with GSTQ. In all seriousness in 40 years of going to matches and playing regularly against teams from Louth, Cavan, Monaghan and Donegal I have never once heard any such comments from opposition players and supporters. I know quite a few pwople from all parts of the South though and some of them actually don't consider Northerners to be Irish at all. That said I think the whole McGuinness intervention in the presidential election has exposed an underbelly of anti nationalist (32 county nationalist) feeling.

[Goats Do Shave]

From Benny Coulter (via Twitter):

Just reading the comments about c mckeever sending off.he was just right to drive the abuser.mckeever hard but fair player.#BIGTALKERSINGAA

[Applesisapples]

Armagh CB Press Release:

Coiste Chondae Ard Mhacha wishes to express concern at the alleged racist and personal abuse, directed at our players, apparently going unpunished.  Racist abuse is in direct contravention of Rule 1.12 :   The Association is Anti-Sectarian and Anti-Racist. Any conduct by deed, word or gesture of a sectarian or racist nature against any player, official, spectator or anyone else, in the course of activities organized by the Association, shall be deemed to have discredited the Association.

The chanting of "God Save the Queen" and malign taunting of "British b**tard" has no place either on or off the field of play.  This is provocation in the extreme and at variance with Rule 1.2 : The Association is a National Organization which has as its basic aim the strengthening of the National Identity in a 32 County Ireland through the preservation and promotion of Gaelic Games and pastimes.  This partitionist mindset is contrary to the preamble in the Treori "Those who play its games, those who organize its activities and those who control its destinies see in the G.A.A. a means of consolidating our Irish identity. The games to them are more than games - they have a national significance - and the promotion of native pastimes becomes a part of the full national ideal, which envisages the speaking of our own language, music and dances."

We endeavor to promote respect and fair play both on and of the field and do not condone any action which is a contravention of such fair play.  However we also expect to be treated fairly and the rules of the game to be applied in a fair and equitable manner.

[Tubberman]

No place for chanting GSTQ or British B*****d or Free State B****d or traitors or any of that shite at a match.
But where the hell are the Armagh CB going with claims of racism!!!??? How the fck can someone from Laois (or Kerry ) be racist against someone from Armagh??  Do people from Armagh actually consider themselves a different race to the rest of Ireland?

[sheamy]

Derry CB Press Release:

Coiste Chondae Dhoire wish to express concern at the alleged racist and personal abuse, directed at our players, apparently going unpunished.  Racist abuse is in direct contravention of Rule 1.12 :   The Association is Anti-Sectarian and Anti-Racist. Any conduct by deed, word or gesture of a sectarian or racist nature against any player, official, spectator or anyone else, in the course of activities organized by the Association, shall be deemed to have discredited the Association.

The chanting of "There's no f*cking London in Armagh" and malign taunting of "Go home to Londonderry" has no place either on or off the field of play.  This is provocation in the extreme and at variance with Rule 1.2 : The Association is a National Organization which has as its basic aim the strengthening of the National Identity in a 32 County Ireland through the preservation and promotion of Gaelic Games and pastimes.  This partitionist mindset is contrary to the preamble in the Treori "Those who play its games, those who organize its activities and those who control its destinies see in the G.A.A. a means of consolidating our Irish identity. The games to them are more than games - they have a national significance - and the promotion of native pastimes becomes a part of the full national ideal, which envisages the speaking of our own language, music and dances."

We endeavor to promote respect and fair play both on and of the field and do not condone any action which is a contravention of such fair play.  However we also expect to be treated fairly and the rules of the game to be applied in a fair and equitable manner.

[armaghniac]

Do people from Armagh actually consider themselves a different race to the rest of Ireland?

That isn't the question. The question is whether Laois/Kerry people consider Armagh people to be of a different race or nationality. It seems that do.