READ MORE: Delaney a distraction? At around 11 the next morning I started to get phone calls to find out who James and I were. When is a ‘friendly’ not a friendly? Registered in Ireland: 523712. There had long been hard-core England fans who saw Ireland as the enemy. In any case, the English chanted the name of Thierry Henry with feeling, confirming the strange turn of events by which a retired footballer from Paris has somehow become more of a hate figure in Ireland than all the other Henrys with which the country has had historic dealings, from Henry II to Henry VIII, combined. Asked if it put him off attending international games, Seamus replied: “No. [7][11], The next meeting between the two sides would not take place until Wednesday 29 May 2013, a friendly at Wembley Stadium,[12] and the next meeting in the Republic of Ireland was on Sunday 7 June 2015 at Dublin's Aviva Stadium. We were at an English game three years earlier and there was no problem.”. This they credited entirely to the ex-president of Fifa. There could be repercussions. But even the booing sounded a bit half-hearted. But the warm conditions and multiple second-half substitutions gradually robbed the occasion of all intensity. “There is no word to describe what I feel about people like that. The conflict began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed to have ended with the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. The English fans were being bombarded by some of their own. Explore our guides to help you through the pandemic, Covid-19: Nphet not recommending move to higher level of restrictions as 506 new cases reported, Limerick doctor who spoke at anti-mask rally remains defiant, One of State’s biggest restaurant and pub groups starts legal action over Covid-19 measures, Meeting the Michigan Militia: ‘There’s no middle ground anymore’, GP to close practice after threat of suspension over anti-mask views, What happens now and what does it mean for Ireland? It was clear that he had to get his young son out of there. [6][10], After questions were raised about the conduct of the Gardaí, former Chief Justice of Ireland, Thomas Finlay was appointed to investigate the events. That was Lansdowne Road 20 years ago when scores of England fans caused chaos in the stadium’s upper west stand, ripping up seats and hurling anything they could find in the direction of Republic of Ireland supporters and players. “There was a gate close to us and I took the decision that the pitch was the safest place to be. [3] Pub staff found British National Party literature left behind and in some cases pro-Loyalist graffiti in toilets. When fans view soccer as war by other means, when they cause mayhem, throw metal and wooden poles, jeer at players, and shout Nazi salutes and turn a game of football into a full-scale riot. After that match, there were clashes between some Irish and English fans and the Gardaí on O'Connell Street in Dublin. When is a ‘friendly’ not a friendly? This time round, their numbers were swelled by members of the neo-Nazi group Combat 18, who were not there for the craic but the crack.