Tag: football

Can a pandemic kill a curse? Old rivals meet again in Ireland’s national final – dpa international

Roadside building in Manulla, Co. Mayo, painted in the colours worn by the county's Gaelic football team. Taken in evening fog on December 7 2020, the day after the team qualified for a 5th All-Ireland football final in 9 years (Simon Roughneen)

DUBLIN — “Any tickets?” “Anyone buying or selling?” Any other year, such would be the refrain in the streets near Dublin’s 82,000-capacity Croke Park throughout the morning of Gaelic Football’s All-Ireland final. But instead of the usual August or September, this year’s delayed and truncated competition will finish the week before Christmas, with those tens of thousands of supporters told watch from home. Restrictions imposed in response to the coronavirus pandemic mean that come 5pm on Saturday, the vast arena will echo only to the collisions of the 30 players and the yelling of substitutes and coaches. “It’s a pity there won’t be a crowd to see [the final],” said Maurice Quinlivan, part of the Tipperary team thrashed by Mayo in the last four, while previewing the match on Irish radio. Even watching in a bar will be difficult, as only premises that serve food can operate under pandemic-related rules. Around 3,500 of Ireland’s pubs have been forced to close since March for all but two weeks. “We miss the fun, the craic,” said John Maughan, a former Mayo player and manager. “It’s not the same.”

In latest tweak to coronavirus rules, Ireland to allow small crowds at sporting events – dpa international

Mayo gaelic football goalkeeper David Clarke and team mates at McHale Park in Castlebar ahead of a clash with Monaghan in March 2019 (Simon Roughneen)

DUBLIN — Ireland’s government said on Tuesday that “limited crowds” will be permitted to attend sporting events in the country as part of the latest adjustment to the country’s coronavirus-related rules. Attendances will be capped at 200 people where stadium capacity exceeds 5,000, with 100 the limit at smaller facilities. Some of the bigger grounds, such as the 82,000-capacity Croke Park and the 51,700-seat Aviva Stadium, will have tailored limits to be set at a later date. Among the main events coming up are the Republic of Ireland’s Nations League football ties against Wales and Finland and Ireland’s rescheduled Six Nations rugby clash with Italy on October 24. Gaelic football and hurling tournaments, which usually are held during the summer and draw crowds of over 80,000, will start in October and end before Christmas.

Leicester lessons for Asia’s European soccer investors – Nikkei Asian Review

JAKARTA — If Claudio Ranieri was in front of a television when English Premier League soccer champions Leicester City hosted five-times European club champions Liverpool on Feb. 27, the mild-mannered Italian might have been tempted into an uncharacteristic show of anger. The 65-year-old had been sacked as team manager three days previously by Leicester City’s billionaire Thai owner and chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, founder of the King Power Group chain of duty-free shops. After a series of tepid losses, the team had been dragged into a struggle with a half dozen rivals desperate to stave off relegation from the premier league to the less high-profile English Championship, where Leicester City had languished for a decade prior to 2014. But with Ranieri gone, the team rediscovered the verve that brought them success the previous year. Ranieri’s ex-charges followed their comfortable 3-1 win over Liverpool with a March 4 victory over Hull City by the same margin.