Madam, – The decision by the Football Association of Ireland to kick Derry City FC out of the League of Ireland at the present time is political madness. I use the term “political” advisedly and will explain why.
First, let it be admitted that Derry must of course be punished for any infringement of League rules. There are means of doing so by way of hefty fines, points deductions and even demotion. Other clubs have infringed rules and stayed in the League. I have lost count of the number of clubs around the country since Derry have been in the League of Ireland that have changed their names, boards, etc, after various infringements and collapses and have still remained in the League.
Second, when Derry first came into the League in 1985, senior football in the city provided a positive alternative to, and escape from, the sterile political violence then raging in the North. People were able to travel to the Republic, forming new friendships and contacts and visiting parts of Ireland many had previously never set foot in. In return, there was a warm and hearty welcome at the Brandywell for southerners. It would not be an exaggeration to claim that Derry City Football Club’s entry to and participation in the League of Ireland played its own small part in hastening the Peace Process, as Derry were able to re-establish Irish League contacts and compete against the likes of Linfield and Glentoran once more via the Setanta Sports Cup and friendly fixtures. That could only happen because Derry had a senior club.
Now the FAI wishes to deprive Derry City of its Irish senior footballing status once again, as the IFA did in the early 1970s. This comes at a time when dissident republicans are seeking to recruit youngsters and inflame the political climate in the North. The Saville report into Bloody Sunday is also in the offing and its contents are by no means certain to calm waters. A Westminster general election (and possibly an Assembly one too) also looms, while the Northern Ireland Executive dithers and bickers over the transfer from London of policing and justice powers. And let’s not downplay the fact that football has been a blessed relief for many from the trials and tribulations of the economic situation.
Into this potent political cocktail, the FAI now chooses to toss the expulsion of Derry City, severing a vital sporting and social connection between North and South, and potentially poisoning the view of the Republic taken by many Derry and other Northern youngsters – and indeed perhaps adults too.
If there are wiser political counsels who can have a quiet word with the FAI, now would not be a moment too soon. – Yours, etc,
NIGEL P COOKE
(Secretary, Derry City
Supporters Club
Dublin Branch, 1986/7),
Wythburn Crescent,
St Helens,
Lancashire, England.