[That Bearded Man]

(Original post by medbh4805)
Wasn't this parodied in Give My Head Peace? When Da and Cal decide to support England rather than have to support Northern Ireland?

Yeah, this isn't going to happen any time soon. Also from a Republican viewpoint supporting the NI team could be construed as viewing the NI state as legitimate

I'm calling Gerry

[That Bearded Man]

(Original post by barnetbuzzzz)
Yes, Protestants support Rangers, and Catholics support Celtic. What's new?
The point I'm trying to make is that Catholics still make up 40% of the NI population. It's not like they're some tiny minority. If they wanted to turn up to NI games in numbers and challenge the Protestant dominance, they could.

Also alot of Catholics pick the south because of how the North has treated Neil Lennon. What a disgrace.

[barnetbuzzzz]

(Original post by That Bearded Man)
Also alot of Catholics pick the south because of how the North has treated Neil Lennon. What a disgrace.

I'm not at all surprised that Catholics pick the South.
Truth is there's nothing we can do about this. You can't just shut down the NI team FFS.

[That Bearded Man]

(Original post by barnetbuzzzz)
I'm not at all surprised that Catholics pick the South.
Truth is there's nothing we can do about this. You can't just shut down the NI team FFS.

What a favour to the world you'd be doing.

But yea, unfortunately not.

[bestofyou]

(Original post by barnetbuzzzz)
No it is not. Anyone who is from Northern Ireland can play in that team.
Catholics can play in that team if they want to, they just choose not to.
They claim it's because the NI team is full of Protestants but the real reason is that the NI team is just **** and they can further their careers by playing for the Republic.

no they tend to get mass amounts of abuse they touch the ball

hence why I say they shouldn't have their own team, their supporters are not fit to support a football team.

(Original post by Vintage)
They are two separate countries. Why should they be joined?

Its like saying San Marino should just merge with Italy.

HOLY ****!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !1

YOU HAVE JUST....and I mean JUST....like right this very SECOND....discovered an important point.

I advise you to take your highly intensive research findings to the IRFU and tell them they have to divide their team into two different teams because they are two different countries....


ahhh...the idiots that walk this earth today...

[bestofyou]

(Original post by medbh4805)
The difference is that rugby is a sport played largely by the educated middle classes; middle class Protestants are usually non-sectarian or at least less openly sectarian than their working class counterparts (the situation with Catholics is a mirror image). Not PC to say it but it's the reality.

I went to school with working class protestants and this is not the case. In fact myself (a catholic) got along better with the 'W.class' prods than they did with the middle class prods.

[snailsareslimy]

(Original post by medbh4805)
Wasn't this parodied in Give My Head Peace? When Da and Cal decide to support England rather than have to support Northern Ireland?

Yeah, this isn't going to happen any time soon. Also from a Republican viewpoint supporting the NI team could be construed as viewing the NI state as legitimate

Completely unrelated to football, but I completely forgot about Give My Head Peace! Might hoke out my box set of it and rewatch a few episodes tomorrow

[hayles101]

Some the comments in this thread are shocking and actually offensive to me having grown up in Northern Ireland my whole life.

I'm curious to know, those making comments on the subject, like 'the Island being joined'..do you live in Northern Ireland/ROI then and happen to have a strong link to have these views? What are you reasons for these opinions?

I am British and as much a part of the United Kingdom as Scotland, England or Wales. My Dad was a young police officer at the time of the troubles and after the horror stories I have grown up knowing, I hope my country never has to go through that again.

[medbh4805]

(Original post by bestofyou)
I went to school with working class protestants and this is not the case. In fact myself (a catholic) got along better with the 'W.class' prods than they did with the middle class prods.

Of course it's not universal. But I imagine the vast majority of those people singing sectarian songs at NI football matches are working class. It's not a secret that socioeconomic status is a factor in prejudice (lack of education, resentment about competition for jobs, etc) - and it's the same elsewhere - e.g. the BNP get most of their support in working class areas.....hence Rugby is different.

[medbh4805]

(Original post by That Bearded Man)
I'm calling Gerry

prsom

(Original post by snailsareslimy)
Completely unrelated to football, but I completely forgot about Give My Head Peace! Might hoke out my box set of it and rewatch a few episodes tomorrow

I miss it a lot

[barnetlad]

No they should not be. It's sad that the team that was captained by Martin O'Neill in 1982 to such success is now it appears such a divisive force, at least amongst football supporters in Northern Ireland.

[Sgany]

I think we should have a "United Kingdom" football team.

[That Bearded Man]

(Original post by medbh4805)
prsom



I miss it a lot

Da "ahhhh hello Gerrrrry "

[Genocidal]

(Original post by bestofyou)
wha?. Dissolve the whole island? or join the two together?

Join them obviously. I don't think we really have the means to completely dissolve the island, yet.

[NDGAARONDI]

Would FIFA recognise the team if it were to happen? I thought they only recognised sovereign states.

[Jim-ie]

I'm from a nationalist background and have been to windsor park for NI matches. Would be uncomfortable if I gave a **** about flags, and I will not stand for god save the queen I go for a smoke instead.

The republic team recruits and operates on a 32 county basis for all intents and purposes. The only issue I have with it is that the IFA (Northern Ireland) should be getting compensation for the players they've brought through their ranks who have defected to the FAI (Republic of Ireland). They don't.

[Jim-ie]

(Original post by NDGAARONDI)
Would FIFA recognise the team if it were to happen? I thought they only recognised sovereign states.

FIFA will wind their neck in as football is not above treaties and laws, and they've been itching to get rid of the FA, SFA, FAW and IFA for decades.

[bluenose14]

(Original post by Vintage)
They are two separate countries. Why should they be joined?

Its like saying San Marino should just merge with Italy.

It's not really though is it. I'm not saying they should be forced to join or anything but it's a bit more complicated than those two countries.

[DK_Tipp]

(Original post by Drewski)
Sport is not politics.

International sport is political. It's sheer flag waving Nationalism/Patriotism.

So are you saying that sport wasn't political when:

-The Americans boycotted the Olympic Games in Moscow in 1980
-The Soviets and Cubans returned the compliment in 1984 in LA
-Jesse Owens turned the idea of Aryan supremacy on it's head at Berlin in 1936.
-The Italian national football team that won the WC in 1934 and 1938 wore black arm bands and gave facist salutes and supposedly were told to "win or die" by Mussolini.
-The Yugoslav National Cup used to be named after Marshall Tito.
-Tommie Smith and John Carlos gave the Black Power salute on the podium at the '68 Olympics.
-When there was a sporting boycott of apartheid era South Africa and when Nelson Mandela subsequently tried to use the Springboks team in the 1995 World Cup to unify the nation.


This is without even touching on Irish history where there is a long and varied history of sport and politics mixing. You know they say: sports politics, be it FIFA, the IOC, whoever, are the dirtiest politics of all.

[Sephiroth]

I'd like to see not only the NI team disbanded, but the Welsh, Scottish and English teams too. We might actually win something if we could pick an actual national team rather than spreading the talent between four countries. The UK is one nation so shouldn't have four national teams.