Irish Soccer team to wear rainbow Jersey in match with US (virtue signal piece)

Sport s Joe ^ | June 2nd 2018 | MATTHEW GAULT

[Ennis85]

The FAI gets a lot of slack – and maybe rightly so – but they deserve a lot of credit for making a statement in their latest move.

On Friday, the Irish soccer's governing body announced that the Republic of Ireland players will wear jerseys sporting the LGBT rainbow flag when they face the United States at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday night.

The numbers on the back of each Ireland player's top will feature rainbow colours as opposed to the traditional white.

The FAI posted an image on Twitter showing the number 4 jersey of John O'Shea, Ireland's defensive stalwart who will turn out for the Boys in Green for the 117th and final time, drawing the curtain on a 17-year international career.

The image was captioned: "The back of match kit. Not just a number, this is a statement. Ireland, supporting #LGBT rights."

https://twitter.com/FAIreland/status/1002624583193817089?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sportsjoe.ie%2Ffootball%2Ffai-hailed-for-162182

Some on social media complained, saying that it broke UEFA and FIFA rules about political and religious symbols on jerseys. Of course, any rational thinking human being will recognise that homosexuality is nothing to do with politics or religion. What the FAI is doing is simply showing solidarity during Pride Month.

The majority of replies hailed the FAI's move.

https://twitter.com/Miriam_Kennedy/status/1002667756779720704?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sportsjoe.ie%2Ffootball%2Ffai-hailed-for-162182

The friendly in Dublin is Ireland's last match until the Euro Nations League opener against Wales in September.

It is set to be a big night for Graham Burke, who may earn his first start for Ireland.

The Shamrock Rovers striker came off the bench against France in Paris on Monday but may be handed a starting berth by Martin O'Neill with Shane Long out through injury.

[heterosupremacist]

Understood. The Irish in Ireland are more clanish and more fiercely Tribal than their NYC counterparts. I'm 3rd generation living on American soil, and I find it much easier to love America then to have positive thoughts about the land of my ancestors! I lived most of my life in NYC, and have known many 'greenhorns' (what they called the illegal Irish in those days), I have known many more posers/wannabees and losers. The moral is this: The Irish are some of the greatest people on God's Earth, but people collectively suck as a rule, and the Irish are not exempt.

[elcid1970]

Sure and we didn’t know, begorrah, that the land of leprechauns is also the land of fairies, now.

[LYDIAONTARIO]

They cannot get any deeper into hell! They may as well be islamic.

[Neoliberalnot]

Hence the reason soccer players are called foot- fairies.

[EdnaMode]

Maybe in the next game, they’ll have at least 2-3 ribbons on their jerseys too.

[Neoliberalnot]

Finally a player standing for the right cause.