Madam, – Regarding the calls for a replay of Ireland vs France, should such an event come to pass, can anyone imagine how long Manchester United’s season would be if unhappiness with the referee resulted in replays? – Yours, etc,
Madam, – I am looking forward to watching a World Cup match in my local pub next summer, specifically the match featuring England vs France. I’m quite excited by the prospect of a totally silent pub full of football supporters. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Proctor Gamble chose Thierry Henry to promote Gillette because of his “true sporting values”. Perhaps it’s time for them to review their commercial arrangement with Monsieur Henry, or do they believe this is the best a man can get? – Yours, etc,
Madam, – My English is too poor to be able to write an entire letter in English, so I continue in French.
Je voudrais simplement vous dire que des centaines de milliers de Français ont honte aujourd’hui d’une équipe qui prétend porter leur drapeau.
La tricherie, l’hypocrisie, la malhonnêteté ne sont pas les valeurs que nos parents nous ont enseignées.
Cette année au mois de Mai, j’ai fait pendant 12 jours le tour de votre beau pays, et partout j’ai été merveilleusement accueilli.
Tous les Irlandais que j’ai pu rencontrer étaient toujours très attentifs à la manière dont nous étions reçus, et me demandaient, à chaque conversation, “Are Irish people friendly with you?” Je regrette profondément qu’ils puissent aujourd’hui croire que notre pays soutient quelques voyous trop cher payés pour n’être même pas capables d’honorer le sport qu’ils prétendent représenter.
Vous êtes certainement terriblement frustrés, mais croyez bien qu’il est encore plus difficile pour nous de supporter la honte que cette équipe a déversé sur nous.
Vous pouvez, si vous le souhaitez, publier ce commentaire. – Avec mes meilleurs sentiments,
DIDIER SCHMIDT,
Rue des Cottages,
75018 Paris.
Madam, – Please, enough already. Having had my country’s reputation dragged down into the European economic gutter, must I now see the Taoiseach demean the country further by getting involved in a football result?
What would have been the response from the Irish officials and team if France demanded a replay in similar circumstances?
Get over it, and show the world we at least act in good sportsmanship. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Brendan McMahon (November 20th) suggests petitioning “Dublin City Council to change the name of the main shopping street in the capital from Henry Street to something less likely to cause offence”. May I suggest Sráid Anraí. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – I don’t mean to spoil anyone’s whinge-fest, but Thierry Henry’s handball is only one of many reasons we’re not going to the World Cup and most of the others are our own responsibility. We let slip leads against Bulgaria (home and away) and Italy (home) due to defensive errors; we played lowly Montenegro twice and failed to score in either game; we were overly cautious against France in Croke Park; and, although we played magnificently in Paris, we nevertheless failed to take several chances to add to Robbie Keane’s goal.
As for video refereeing, I’m all in favour, but it cuts both ways. If the referee had seen a video replay, would Italy have had a man sent off against us in Bari?
Would we have been awarded a vital penalty at home against Georgia?
Would France have had a penalty against us in Croke Park?
All these doubtful decisions went our way, so be careful what you wish for. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – I believe Brian Cowen and Dermot Ahern have joined the bandwagon in calling for a replay of the travesty of justice that was the Ireland vs France World Cup play-off in Paris.
What about giving the Irish people another kind of replay – a general election? – Yours, etc,
Madam, – The first politician I saw commenting on the match was Dermot Ahern, noted soccer enthusiast, who kept his remarks polite but firm.
Thereafter, wave after wave of press releases came from both the Government TDs and the Opposition, each trying to “out-outrage” the other.
Then, I was surprised to read that Brian Cowen had brought the matter of the errant goal up with French president Nicolas Sarkozy, and had ordered his Minister for Sport to support the FAI’s application for a rematch.
My belief that the matter had got out of hand was strengthened when I discovered that the French prime minister has taken the unusual step of warning Mr Cowen not to become involved.
Somehow, the cheating of a sports player has generated an international incident.
We might be better served if politicians stuck to fixing potholes for votes, rather than trying to ride the crest of public anger. – Yours, etc,