IRISH INDEPENDENT....... DELEGATES had just taken their seats for what they expected to be a quiet first session at GAA Congress in Newcastle last April when they were jolted to attention by a stark presentation highlighting the dangers of pitch invasions.
It was followed by a chilling warning from Con Hogan (chairman of an expert group on ground safety) as to where the GAA were headed unless they addressed the issue.
"Do we want to be standing for a minute's silence at next year's Congress in memory of people who died at one of our major games because we did not exercise due care and attention? I want you to consider a future where Croke Park, Thurles, Clones or some other GAA stadium is linked forever with Ibrox and Heysel and Hillsborough, not as iconic sports venues, but as a place where people died because we didn't exercise proper crowd control," he said.
I seem to recall that at least two of the tragedies mentioned above occurred where the supporters had been fenced in and couldnt escape. I think Bradford is another example where people were trapped behind a fence and couldnt get out on the pitch to escape.
The Louth incident was an exception unlikely to reoccur. They hadn't been in a big game for 50 years and the combination of bad fair play, the novelty of it all, the presence of a few gurriers and the mysterious absence of the forces of law and order all contributed to Sludden getting jostled.
BIG SACKS (Tyrone) - Posts: 1681 - 21/07/2010 12:18:55
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I imagine the Louth soccer supporters are like all the rest....of course they dont attend local soccer matches...... their spiritual home is not in Louth but in Manchester, Liverpool, London, Glasgow or some other UK city in which they have never set foot.
BIG SACKS (Tyrone) - Posts: 1681 - 21/07/2010 14:20:04
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