The board of Shamrock Rovers has today issued an apology to Drogheda United defender Simon Webb for the verbal abuse he received at Tolka Park on Friday night.
Former Bohemians star Webb, who tragically lost his wife last year, was abused throughout Friday night′s match with Rovers at Tolka Park.
The statement issued by the Rovers board said: "On behalf of the club′s membership and the entire Shamrock Rovers community, we wish to issue a public apology to Simon Webb for the heartless and highly personal verbal abuse he was subjected to from a tiny minority of the attendance at the Shamrock Rovers-Drogheda United game at Tolka Park on April 20. Those responsible should be ashamed of themselves and are certainly not welcome at Shamrock Rovers. An investigation into the incident has begun and those responsible will be dealt with in an appropriate manner."
20 January 2007
Soccer's governing bodies in Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic should be merged, Irish Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern has said.
Mr Ahern said an all-island league would generate more income for clubs and provide more talented players for a re-constituted national team.
He told the Soccer Writers Association of Ireland that times had changed since the governing body split in the 1920s.
"Together they can achieve so much more than by remaining apart," he said.
Rugby is the most high-profile sport to be organised on a north-south basis, and up to 30 sporting bodies operate in this way.
"I believe the time is now right for both football organisations to sit down together for serious discussions on the basis that together they can achieve so much more than remaining apart," he said.
"When they balance the pros and cons of having one all-island football organisation, the ledger will, I believe, come down heavily on a harmonious coming together of two noble Irish football traditions and organisations. In 1921, the south had emerged from the war of independence, while a majority in the north viewed with increasing fear developments in the new state. Eighty-six years later, we enjoy a dramatically changed Ireland."
Mr Ahern said the fact that both organisations were working with Uefa to jointly host the 2011 Under-21 European Championships "underlines what can be achieved together".
"Belfast is now just two hours by train and road from Dublin. The relationship, the respect, and the solidarity is growing stronger all the time," he said.
But Gary McAllister from the Northern Ireland Supporters Club said merging was not an option.
"Northern Ireland have been quite successful in recent times and it is very interesting that voices from the Irish Republic are now calling for an all-Ireland team on this sort of level when it's the first time that Northern Ireland are above them in the Fifa world rankings," he said.
"We've had good times and bad times, but we're quite happy with our lot."
In a statement, the Dublin-based Football Association of Ireland said they already had "a very high degree of positive co-operation" with the Irish Football Association in Belfast, which "was growing year by year".
"At Uefa level the two associations collaborate for the good of Irish football and we continually assess, with our colleagues in the IFA, every relevant issue that impacts on football on both sides of the border. The FAI intends continuing to strengthen the co-operation and development links that are already established with the IFA."
Teams from north and south have come together in recent years to play in the Setanta Cup.
The last time an Ireland XI played was at Lansdowne Road in 1973. Billed as Shamrock Rovers XI, they lost 4-3 to the then-world champions Brazil.
Northern Ireland stars like Pat Jennings, Martin O'Neill, Bryan Hamilton and Derek Dougan lined up alongside the likes of Johnny Giles and Terry Conroy.
Months before his death, George Best called for an all-Ireland team.
"I've always thought that at any given time, the Republic and Northern Ireland have had some great, world-class players," he said.
"I just believe in trying something. If it doesn't work, at least you've tried."
15 December 2006
Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber today issued the following statement regarding the death of American sports pioneer and founding MLS investor Lamar Hunt.
"All of us at Major League Soccer are deeply saddened by the loss of one of the true sport visionaries and a great friend to us all," Garber said.
"On behalf of our owners, players, coaches, administrators and fans, we offer our sincerest condolences to Lamar's wife Norma, his sons Clark, Dan, Lamar, Jr., and daughter Sharron. There is no doubt that MLS and the sport of soccer in America would not be where it is today without Lamar Hunt's passion, commitment and unrelenting love of the game. He dreamed more than 30 years ago that America could someday be a Soccer Nation. And he lived to see that dream come true. Everyone at Major League Soccer was fortunate to have the opportunity to rub shoulders with someone who had a hand in writing our history, and to work alongside a man whose humility, quiet confidence and commitment continue to serve as a lesson to us all."
One of the most influential sportsmen in the world, the impact of Lamar Hunt on soccer in the United States is immeasurable. Hunt championed the sport for more than 30 years, beginning with his first experience with soccer in 1962 when he met his future wife, Norma, at a Shamrock Rovers game in Dublin, Ireland.
In 1966, he viewed the FIFA World Cup in England, and then attended nine of the past 11 World Cups (Argentina '78 and Germany 2006 being the exceptions). Hunt was one of the few people in the world who attended a game in every World Cup stadium during World Cup USA 1994, World Cup France 1998 and World Cup Korea/Japan in 2002.
Hunt became an investor in the North American Soccer League's Dallas Tornado in 1967, owning the team for 14 years. Hunt served as Dallas Host Committee Chairman for World Cup 1994 and then became a founding investor in Major League Soccer prior to the League's first season in 1996.
Hunt was the original investor-operator of the Columbus Crew and the Kansas City Wizards. In 1999 he established a milestone by the constructing the first stadium built specifically for an MLS team, Columbus Crew Stadium.
In 2003, Hunt purchased a third team, the Dallas Burn (now FC Dallas). Hunt opened another soccer-specific stadium in 2005 with the debut of Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas. Hunt, who recently sold the Wizards to OnGoal, LLC, attended MLS Cup 2006 on November 12 at Pizza Hut Park.
Hunt, who saw the U.S. Open Cup renamed in his honor, was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1982 as a builder. Information on memorial services will be forthcoming. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorials be made to the Dallas Museum of Art and the Heart of a Champion Foundation.
