A chara, - Once again the booing of a footballer at a football match has prompted a letter of concern to The Irish Times and it is even suggested that the FAI should apologise! This is political correctness in the extreme.
Rightly or wrongly, "abuse" of a rival team's player has always been part and parcel of football. Yet it is only when a Rangers player or former player is jeered at by Celtic fans at a football match in Dublin that it becomes an issue of national importance. Why should this be?
I suspect it is because those who complain so vehemently about this matter are unaware of recent advances in Scottish football and are judging booing of Rangers players on the basis that sectarianism still exists in Scottish football.
These people should understand that for a number of years now Rangers have employed people of any religious denomination and that the previous discrimination of employment based on religious grounds is no longer an issue. This has helped in dramatically reducing tensions between rival supporters and is to be wholeheartedly welcomed.
As a result, booing or jeering of players is now, thankfully, simply a matter of footballing rivalry. Perhaps if similar concerns had been raised when employment by a football club based on religious discrimination was in existence, the present situation would have been reached more swiftly. - Is mise,
E.F. FANNING,
Churchtown,
Dublin 14.