Irish Media and Englands World Cup

mike65

So are RTE etc covering themselves in glory or is it just a succession of snide jibes at the expense of England and the English?

The first England game had a few beery spots of bother among fans and was reported thus by rte.

Arrests at home and away mar England joy

11 June 2006 10:10

31 people were arrested in Frankfurt last night following yesterday's first England match in the World Cup in Germany.

Twelve of those were England fans and all have since been released.

Four people were arrested at the match itself; the others were held for a variety of reasons including trying to steal tickets, wearing offensive symbols and possession of cannabis.

A German woman police officer was injured by a flying bottle during a stand-off between England fans and police in the city's Romerberg Square.

But there were no major outbreaks of violence and it was a 'normal' night for a football championship, according to police.

There were eight arrests in Cologne, early today outside the station.

They were all for public order and assault matters, but no further details were available.

Hundreds of people were caught up in fighting at big screen showings of the match in London and Liverpool.

A total of 16 people were injured - including six taken to hospital - when a mass brawl involving 200 people at Canary Wharf in London where up to 6,000 people were watching.

At almost the same moment, trouble broke out in front of a big screen in Liverpool city centre with fans hurling missiles. Several people were arrested during the disturbance

What they did'nt mention was that 2 Irish got arrested

from Guardian

Meanwhile in Germany England's world cup campaign got off to the start British police wanted, with only two arrests of British people in Frankfurt overnight.

Assistant Chief Constable Stephen Thomas of Greater Manchester police said: "There was a fairly tense atmosphere at times, and some very good work from the Frankfurt police, moving in at the right time, with the help of our spotting operation, to defuse issues."

One Briton and two Irishmen were arrested for allegedly causing criminal damage to cars.

He added that some 20 to 30 England fans had an altercation with "a group of Hells Angels who seem to run the red light district". Three Hells Angels and a Canadian were arrested, but no English.

(A Canadian?????? )

Listening to the 'National Broadcaster' this week has been the expected education for an outsider. The Poles are our new masters so we better support them, Trinidad and Tobago are colourful underdog warriors, The Ivory Coast are good cos they have a flag that looks familair and Brazil or Argentina are going to win it. England meanwhile are over-rated/over-paid/over-confident/over there (dammit) and will hopefuly crash and burn in the most embarrasing fashion possible. I wonder say if the German media are so bitter (two world wars and all that) Proberly not as they have a team to support/condem.

Mike.

flogen

mike65 wrote:

Listening to the 'National Broadcaster' this week has been the expected education for an outsider. The Poles are our new masters so we better support them, Trinidad and Tobago are colourful underdog warriors, The Ivory Coast are good cos they have a flag that looks familair and Brazil or Argentina are going to win it. England meanwhile are over-rated/over-paid/over-confident/over there (dammit) and will hopefuly crash and burn in the most embarrasing fashion possible. I wonder say if the German media are so bitter (two world wars and all that) Proberly not as they have a team to support/condem.

Mike.

While plenty will not support England (or give them a chance) because they're England, plenty also honestly think that they are over-rated; you can't help but feel that way by watching the British media as an outsider IMO, it's like Wimbledon when ever year is Henman's Year when in reality it's not.
I think maybe Dunphy is a bit bitter, but isn't he always?

mike65

The English media is'nt the issue, the mainstream is OTT as it would be here.

The football scribblers are as critical as can be (mainly about Sven) just as would be the case here - "Staunton fails first test etc" while regional reporters would have silly filmed bits from some pub in Ballydehob thats covered in tricolours etc. Thats just normal behaviour.

Its the Irish media attiudes towards England that I'm interested in. Can they give England an even break as they would any other participating country?

Mike.

Mike.

flogen

mike65 wrote:

Its the Irish media attiudes towards England that I'm interested in. Can they give England an even break as they would any other participating country?

It's a tough one to call, but I'd be leaning towards a no; that said I don't think it's easy to say who is getting a fair hearing and who isn't; in the case you describe about arrests maybe we'd need to see how RTÉ handled mass arrests for another countries supporters before we said with any certainty if they were having an unfair go

monument

I agree with Mike here...

Arrests at home and away mar England joy

Mar England joy???

31 people were arrested

But just...

Twelve of those were England fans and all have since been released.

???

But there were no major outbreaks of violence and it was a 'normal' night for a football championship, according to police.

"Mar England joy"???

The tone is just wrong here. The facts and the tone towards the effect it had with England's "joy" is contradictory, at best.

Crowman

Hi
Anyone see the new RTE World Cup show Gatecrashers?
They are supposed to be going around commenting on the fans and capture the atmosphree and stuff.
Anyhow the report tonight focused on the England game, they tried their hardest to paint the English fans in a real bad light. At the end they stated that a Police woman ws 'bottled' during trouble after the match in Germany??

I couldnt find any reports on this? And anyhow why not try and capture the fun andd excitement of the cup instead of this rubbish?

I wonder if they will try as hard to find reports of troubles after other games...I doubt it....

monument

In Germany, England fans enjoy the party. At home, there's a mass brawl

http://football.guardian.co.uk/worldcup2006/story/0,,1795474,00.html

It could have been a flashpoint, the moment it all went wrong. A convoy of siren-wailing police vehicles drew up outside O'Reilly's Irish bar, close to the central railway station, early on Saturday morning. The bar has been a focal point for English fans since their arrival in Germany and it was heaving with drunken fans.

But when the heavily-accented voice came booming over a loudspeaker, the source of the trouble became clear.

"This is nothing to do with the England fans," it proclaimed. "This is to do with the Germans who are trying to take you out. You are all having fun. Carry on with the party."

...outbreaks in the UK, but...

*In Germany, however, the softly-softly tactics appeared to have worked.*

"We are full of joy about how the last few days have gone," said Nicholas Muenster, press spokesman for the city. "We are extremely happy at how the English fans behaved. It was a great party - their bad reputation is long out-dated and their behaviour excellent."

Just even more...

Robert Schafer, in charge of the Frankfurt policing operation, said: "It was all very minor stuff ... nothing extraordinary for a big event..."

Elmo

I think it is a case of England being hyped up in the british media as usual and the Irish media playing on that over hype and anti-english feeling in Ireland.

Can you imagine what the british media would be like if France or Germany where in the finals of the World Cup, I mean who to support? who to support?

Media is bias in general and you can see that during the world cup. Remember the british newspapers running with Anti-German Headlines?

And also note the british media anger at the winning film at cannes "the wind that shakes the barley"

Crowman

Good points Elmo, I guess Historical films of that nature will always cause unease,(Im sure someone once said 'History is just a never ending argument') but my problem is this is football...

By all means laugh and mock the English team (I'm looking forward to the great songs again on the radio, remember the song last time about Beckham? class!)

But for the love of God lets leave politics out of it just for once and try to enjoy this great event.

Ohyeah

Daily Ireland has had on the top of their front page each day 'Rooney Foot Free Zone' www.dailyireland.com

but maybe they took it a bit far with this editorial :eek:

http://dailyireland.televisual.co.uk/home.tvt?_ticket=9NTHLXD4YGSGX4TFINNADY7BZKLAFUUGUXRLJTPDEPUG9LLDN32STRRIVON9ANVRARKACJ5L5QRFK12D9NTGNOM9CHUT1YQFIRY4S0SEAOYBCLWFURUQCB99ANWR9LLGGGSG00QFIRYO21M2PDFX8&_scope=DailyIreland/Content/Comment&id=31709&_page=&opp=1

Daily Ireland Editorial

Editor: Colin O’Carroll


Finally, the whistle signalling the beginning of World Cup 2006 is about to blow. That will come as a huge relief to those of us interested in global sport rather than in the chauvinistic rantings about Wayne Rooney’s foot in the media – both British and Irish.
It’s as if England, and Rooney, are the only show in town. That’s why Daily Ireland has declared its pages to be a Rooney’s foot-free zone. We believe that emerging African nations, and those form other continents are every bit as exciting – if not more so – than the overpaid prima donnas of the Premiership with which the English-dominated Irish media is fixated. The vibrancy and excitement of our own GAA championships are proof positive of our sense of pride and national identity, but for some reason that seems to disappear when soccer is being discussed and we tend to ape the English in worshipping at the altar of the Premiership. The fact is that there is a whole world of excitement, colour and skill out there, of which England is a vital part – but only a part.
The English press is inward-looking and hysterical. With the arrival of ‘Irish’ editions of those press organs, we are in danger of becoming a mirror image. Which is why we celebrate talent whatever its nationality, Wayne Rooney included, and not only his foot.

mike65

RTEs Sean O'Rourke got on my tits today big time (even sent news at one an e-mail!). At the top of the programme he was talking up possible trouble. (interestly this was edited out of the real audio archive linked below).

Listen to the report starting at 31 mins in and spot the difference in emphisis between Sean 'I predict A Riot' O'Rourke and correspondent Sean Whelan.

Mike.