to View - Griffith College Dublin

16
SPORT
THE CIRCULAR
Croke Park under lights: Dublin v Tyrone, 3 Feb, 2007
GAA moves with modern Ireland
By Eamonn Mc Gurk
Ireland’s identity is changing.
Roared on by the Celtic Tiger economy
we have never had such prosperity,
diversity and confidence.
Rather than cut its ties with this
new image, the GAA has embraced
it and the future looks bright for
both it and Ireland.
“Croke Park is a true monument
of our past and a manifestation of
our vision for the future,” said
GAA President Nickey Brennan
after he illuminated the stadium
before the Dublin V Tyrone match
thus reflecting the organization’s
forward thinking attitude.
Saturday February 24 2007, was
a standout occasion in Ireland’s
recent history. Croke Park formed
the centerpiece. There it stood for
the entire world to view as a magnificent
tribute to the GAA and
Ireland as a whole. The editorial in
Monday’s Irish Times eloquently
described the occasion:
“All in all, it was a very special
night to remember in the history,
not just of sport, but of a modern
Ireland full of self-confidence and
comfortable with herself. Indeed,
players and fans alike displayed this
self-confidence and sense of
pride.”
If the match had been staged in
Cardiff or Murrayfield, (viewed as
alternatives if the GAA hadn’t
opened up Croke Park) the occasion
may not have been so significant.
Since the plans were made
available in 1992, the GAA has created
a stadium fit to grace any international
occasion. Brennan basked
in the glory of these recent triumphs
for the organisation but the
contribution made by his predecessor
Sean Kelly should not be forgotten.
It was he and some grassroots
members who had the foresight
and courage to place Rule 42,
which had banned ‘foreign games’,
at the top of the agenda.
“Once again
it seems sport
has moved on
quicker than
politics”
Although a massive statement,
Croke Park is not the only way in
which the GAA is engaging with
and reflecting a changing society.
An organisation of around 800,000
members, it values the contribution
of people to its continued growth.
On the night the lights were
switched on, children from 18
nationalities formed the teams that
took the field for the half time
exhibition.
Among the solo runs, turns and
dummies these teams pointed to
signs of the future. Some of these
players may adorn the light blue of
Dublin one day. They don’t need to
look far for inspiration as Cork
hurling star Sean og O’Halpin who
captained the All-Ireland winning
team in 2005 has Fijian roots.
During a radio conversation with
Eamonn Dunphy, O’Halpin commented
that playing Ireland’s
national games helped him integrate
into Irish society and curtailed
the racist abuse he was subjected
to.
It is not only immigrants who
are being welcomed to play Gaelic
games. In the North of Ireland, the
PSNI now field a team following
the abolishment of Rule 21 in
2001, which prevented members of
the security forces playing Gaelic
sports. It took the largest
Nationalist party in the North Sinn
Fein until recently to endorse policing.
Once again it seems sport has
moved on quicker than politics.
Since its foundation in 1884 the
GAA has played a central role in
communities throughout Ireland.
In modern society the faces and
attitudes of these communities are
much different than those of the
past.Former President Sean Kelly
points to inclusiveness as the key to
the future for the organisation.”In
modern Ireland every organization
has to be inclusive, and the GAA is
no exception. It’s a form of maturity,
of advancement, that you can
see people not by their differences
but by what you have in common.”
Guided by the vision and
courage of those like Kelly the
GAA continues to move forward
and it’s bringing many others along
with it.
Cheating must stop
Manchester City players show their frustration
towards Chelsea’s Didier Drogba
By Ciara Hegarty
The culture of diving has
wormed its way into the ‘beautiful
game’ of soccer. Players fall to the
ground without being dragged
down, tripped or sometimes even
touched at all. They exaggerate
their injuries and are miraculously
healed if their theatrics fail to
impress the referee. This play-acting
and blatant foul-play has gone
unpunished and has become
accepted as an element of the modern
game. This must be stopped.
In both the English Premiership
and particularly in the Champions’
League, we see players rolling
around in ‘agony’, encouraging the
referee to brandish cards. The main
objective of the act, and that’s what
it is an act, is to fool the referee into
thinking they are genuinely in pain.
If these players were really in
‘agony’ a booking for the opposition
would be the last thing on their
mind.
Nowadays, people argue for free
kicks and penalties based on contact.
But contact is a fundamental
part of soccer. If it wasn’t, the
game would be called tip-soccer
and would be stripped of all excitement.
Soccer is a fast paced game
of attack and defence in which
players cannot possibly avoid colliding
with each other. Players who
exaggerate injuries from tackles
seem to get the benefit of the
doubt when really it is these divers
that are cheating while defenders
are just doing their job.
There is an idea that diving is a
foreign influence leaving Irish and
English players no choice but to
follow in the footsteps of their
Italian, Spanish and Portuguese
counterparts. Wherever and whoever
it came from, it is clear to see
now that everyone is at it, from Joe
Cole to Ronaldo to Damien Duff.
Chelsea striker Drogba has even
openly admitted to diving.
“Sometimes I dive, sometimes I
stand”. So too has Bolton striker
El-Hadji Diouf, who describes it as
being “clever”. It is a disgrace that
these self confessed divers have
gone unpunished. Just like throwing
a game or fielding a suspended
player is considered cheating, this
issue of faking an injury must be
treated with the same seriousness.
Every week we hear aggrieved
managers blaming referees for poor
decisions. Penalties given for exaggerated
injuries, genuine penalties
denied, controversial yellow and
red cards, the list goes on. It is
“Somtimes I
dive,
sometimes I
stand”
Didier Drogba
unfair to criticise referees considering
the influence of diving on
today’s game. They get one look at
it and have to make a call on their
first impression. Sunderland manager
Roy Keane recently admitted
that there are a lot of players out
there who are trying to pull one
over on the referee by diving.
“Players have got to look to treat
the referees fairly”.
It is hypocritical of managers to
give out about incidents of diving
that go against them one week, but
keep quiet about an easy penalty
that wins them a game the next.
Torquay United who are facing
relegation at the bottom of League
Two have decided to take action
against their own players if found
cheating. The club has set up a
‘three strikes and you’re out’ policy
to clamp down on the increasing
problem of diving. But if a player
is awarded a penalty or free kick
from a dive that wins them the
game, how harsh would the punishment
be
Nevertheless this is a positive
step taken by Torquay United and
will hopefully encourage other
clubs to follow.
Until a video referee is introduced
to the game, mistakes are
going to be made and cheating will
continue. Similar to the way dangerous
and deliberate fouls are
cited in rugby, something must be
done about the issue of diving in
soccer.
These players are fit, professional
athletes who train hard to better
their skills in order to win matches
and be successful.
In the name of good sportsmanship,
surely it is more satisfying to
win games as a result of these skills
they worked hard to perfect, rather
than fooling the referee with their
acting talents