Roy Hodgson has appealed to England’s travelling fans not to provoke the home support at the Aviva Stadium as his team play their first fixture in the Republic of Ireland since crowd trouble forced the abandonment of a friendly between the countries two decades ago.
Around 3,000 English fans, all members of the England Supporters’ Travel Club, will attend the game on Sunday with the Football Association having reminded them, in writing, of their responsibilities, and of what constitutes unacceptable behaviour in recognition of the sensitivities surrounding this fixture. England’s past two away games, against Scotland at Celtic Park and Italy in Turin, were played to a backdrop of anti-IRA chants. The FA issued an official apology after the 3-1 win in Glasgow, while Fifa contacted English football’s governing body about the issue after the match against the Azzurri.
Efforts to prevent trouble at the fixture in Dublin will extend to fans who are the subject of banning orders having to report to their local police stations in England at kick-off time.
“It’s always important the fans conduct themselves in the right way,” said Hodgson, who had attended the game at the old Lansdowne Road in February 1995, when trouble flared among the away supporters in the ground’s upper-west stand after David Kelly’s goal for the hosts. “It’s a long time, 20 years, and I’d like to think relationships between Ireland and England have moved on incredibly in that time. A lot has happened on the Irish mainland in the last 20 years, and a lot has happened in our football too.
“There was a lot of hooliganism in our football back then, and I think we’ve sorted that out pretty well in the time since. I’d like to think both sides have moved on since that time. I hope our fans don’t provoke the Ireland fans by doing things they know they shouldn’t do and that, after the game, all the talk will be about the quality of the match, so we can put this unfortunate and rather shameful incident, 20 years ago, firmly behind us.”
Hodgson will field a strong England side in Dublin – captained by Wayne Rooney, who remains two short of Sir Bobby Charlton’s 49-goal record tally for his country – with one eye on next Sunday’s Euro 2016 qualifier against Slovenia. Jack Wilshere, whose domestic campaign was badly hampered by injury after his encouraging form in a deeper role for the national side in the autumn, should be restored, with the management having spoken to the Arsenal midfielder after he took to the microphone to mock Tottenham Hotspur during his club’s celebrations of their recent FA Cup triumph. Wilshere was subsequently charged by the FA and will discover next week the extent of their sanction.
“I had a little word with him,” said Hodgson. “I do wish players would behave in an angelic manner, but I’ve been wishing that for 40 years now and I’m coming to terms with the fact they sometimes do things that are ill-advised. It was important Arsenal took that matter in hand quickly, and it’s being dealt with as far as the FA are concerned. He must accept that. It’s not the type of behaviour we encourage or want to see but, unfortunately young men do things they regret. We need to make sure he curbs his enthusiasm.
“Jack played very well [for England in the autumn] and plays in a position we think is a very good one for us. He has competition there from Michael Carrick but, going forward, we are desperate – like most people who follow English football – that Jack keeps himself fit and gets a run of games, because we believe his qualities will be very important for us going into the European Championship.”
Wilshere’s inclusion, most likely between Jordan Henderson and James Milner in a midfield three, may be key to providing a more progressive approach to that which was derided by Gary Lineker as “a step back to the dark ages of two lines of four” after Hodgson’s side drew with the Republic of Ireland at Wembley two years ago. England have not lost since the World Cup last summer, but have not beaten these opponents for 30 years, with Rooney suggesting the fixture would provide a “stern challenge” of their capabilities.
