Republican News · Thursday 29 January 1998

[An Phoblacht]

Out! Out! Out!

Forgive me for using Margaret Thatcher's famous (or infamous) quote regarding uniting our country, but that is the way a lot of Irish football fans feel after the events of the last week - and particularly National League fans, in regards to one Sammy Hammam.

Wimbledon Chairman Sam Hammam was in Ireland to promote his `Dublin Dons' project. And the worst thing about it was that he and his Cork partner, a builder, met with some League of Ireland clubs. It is reported that £330,000 and a school of excellence is the price for Irish clubs to sell out to foreign businessmen.

Athlone Town, Limerick, Cobh and Drogheda were reportedly visited. In Limerick's case the club's management committee met before Christmas and voted against the Wimbledon proposals by a margin of ten to one. Bohemians reportedly refused to meet them and turned down flatly their offer, with St Patrick's Athletic taking their campaign directly to the 26-County government. Athlone Town's secretary has threatened to resign over the whole affair. Anger was a word I would use to sum up the feelings of soccer fans I've met since it all blew up. Cathal Derwin[spelling??], writing in Sunday's Title, sums up the mood:

``Those provincial clubs who reportedly spoke to Sam Hammam this week have open palms and short memories... They have forgotten who put the money into their game for the last 75 years... Forgotten who paid for floodlights... Forgotten who paid for their grounds when more than their backs were to the walls in recent years... [The proposed move] will be bad for Irish soccer, Irish sport and Irish life... ``

They seem to think having an English football side playing in Dublin, in the English Premiership, with corporate sponsorship, TV rights, complete with the scum of Combat 18/National Front etc visiting every second week will benefit Irish soccer. Has Hammam given any consideration to Wimbledon fans left behind in London? Do their views not count for anything?

Tempers became more frayed with reports that Scottish Second Division club Clydebank sent an application to Fingal Council to use Santry Stadium for their home games next season. It was described as a non-starter by the Scottish Football Association.

To top it all Hammam has threatened to take the Football Association of Ireland to the European Courts. Hammam has secured the services of lawyer Jean Louis Dupont, the man who represented Marc Bosman in his (successful) case over transfer fees within the EU. The FAI have the backing, however, of the Dublin government (when has that ever meant anything), FIFA and UEFA. The FAI has also threatened legal action if Hammam also dosen't stop spreading rumours of support from Merrion Square for the project. Watch this space.

Railway Cup

d so to GAA and the poor beleaguered Railway Cup competitons, played between the four provinces. For years this competiton has been neglected with alarmingly small attendances at games. It's a far cry from its heyday in the `40s and `50s when big crowds were the norm. They were eventually shifted from their St Patrick's Day slot, with the much more popular Club championship finals taking their place. Hopefully the GAA can come up with a formula to attract the crowds back to the provincial deciders as it would be a shame to see them die. With no international competition it is the highest level any inter-county player can play at.

In the games themselves Connacht and Ulster played out a draw, while Leinster defeated the Kerry-laden Munster side.

BY CIARAN HEAPHEY


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