Galway soccer fans should abort political flag waving

Soccer supporters need to cop on.

No, not just the hooligans causing chaos in France for the European Championships. But the eejits up at Eamonn Deacy Park need to get a life, too.

Can they not watch Galway United without dragging abortion into it?

A fan was effectively banned from the ground for waving a “Repeal the Eighth” flag during a match. Forty other fans took umbrage and threatened to boycott the club’s future games.

Well good riddance to them. Terryland is no place for politicking. And if they can’t recognise that, well that’s their problem.

The reference on the flag is to the 8th Amendment of the Constitution, which when signed into law in 1983, introduced a ban on abortion by recognising the right to life of an unborn child.

But that doesn’t matter. The fact is there are rules about political messages at matches – they’re not allowed. UEFA says so. And for good reason.

The violence perpetrated by xenophobic English and Russian thugs this week backs up the policy.

Be it the politics of nationhood and patriotism – although the rioting gougers are the opposite of patriots. Or be it the politics of abortion. It should be left at the stadium gates.

What’s most interesting about this episode is the lack of condemnation of these ‘appeal the eighth’ flag waving warriors.

Imagine the furore from our liberal media commentators if the message on the flag being waved was, say, an image of an aborted baby. And that the flag-waver was, pro-life rather than pro-repeal the eighth.

Twitter would explode in outrage. The nuts who display images of aborted babies on t-shirts and banners, targeted at guilting and shaming people, are abhorrent. But at least they’ve the good grace not to bring it to matches.

By all means, highlight the issue by marching through the streets of Galway; picket your local TDs’ office; bombard politicians with letters and emails outlining why you want the eight amendment repealed. But please, keep politics out of Eamonn Deacy Park.

Read about Frank’s farewell, Political party animals and Labour licking its wounds in Bradley Bytes in this week’s City Tribune Digital Edition here or download our app.