Madam, - Many commentators (including your own Tom Humphries) have predicted heckling upon Roy Keane's return to Lansdowne Road. Why should anyone be surprised at this? A sizeable contingent of the Irish crowd at home internationals appear to have made it an imperative to direct their baleful jeers at somebody.
I cite Glasgow Rangers players (both present and distantly past), the Yugoslav national side in 1999 and of course Keane himself in 1997, as token examples.
Purchasing a match ticket does not bestow the right to reduce the enjoyment of the game for genuine fans by loudly vocalising prejudiced opinions. This moronic behaviour has already attracted criticism from European football's governing body, UEFA, which has intimated that sanctions might be forthcoming should it persist.
The FAI and Brian Kerr, to their credit, have attempted to address the problem but unfortunately the mindset of these idiots seems impermeable to reason. Public co-operation has been applied successfully to both the policing of road safety and more recently the smoking ban. Such communal vigilance should now be encouraged at soccer internationals to help thwart this anti-social behaviour. - Yours, etc.,
MARC SOMERS, Mountain Road, Clonmel, Co Tipperary.