When the Board at Drogheda United told her that her position as joint Club chairperson was untenable because she had called for Ireland not to play Israel in a Nation's League match, she exposed its perfidy.
Ms Byrne merely stated of the FAI that:
Hardly controversial, it is consistent with having argued against teams playing Nazi Germany while it was murdering Jewish people and others during its own genocide.
It appears that their morals, and principled position, was only on paper – not in actions where it counts . . . Israel should not be in this competition.
Hardly controversial, it is consistent with having argued against teams playing Nazi Germany while it was murdering Jewish people and others during its own genocide.
Joanna Byrne is a Sinn Fein TD, and made her call for the match not to go ahead in her capacity as the party's spokesperson on sport, not as Drogheda United Joint Chair. It is often said that politics should not interfere with sports. Here we have what on the surface appears to be sport trying to interfere with politics, although at a deeper level it is clear that the Board's behaviour is not about sport at all and is more about wealth and political choices. Joanna Byrne is quite entitled as a political representative to speak publicly about the issues of the day free from punitive actions from other bodies she belongs to. In her role as TD she represents the constituency not the Board. The Board, not elected by the Constituency, has no right to interfere in the work that her constituency has elected her to perform.
She is not trying to drag Drogheda United into politics. Her public comments have not been about what Drogheda Utd should be doing but about what the FAI and the Irish national team should be doing. She made that very clear in her comment that:
She is not trying to drag Drogheda United into politics. Her public comments have not been about what Drogheda Utd should be doing but about what the FAI and the Irish national team should be doing. She made that very clear in her comment that:
It is profoundly hurtful that expressing a moral view – one shared by the majority of Irish football fans – has led to this approach despite me never referencing the club at any stage whilst doing so.
Recently while canvassing for Catherine Conolly at the ground, I and a companion were approached by Ms Byrne and asked would we move outside club property if we wished to hand out flyers. We did as requested. It was clear to us that while Joanna Byrne politically favoured Catherine Connolly for the presidency, she wanted to keep the ground neutral. Last summer when I approached her about accessibility to the ground for a number of Palestinian refugees so that they could watch a soccer match she positively responded, but her action was humanitarian not political.
In a statement that does nothing to inspire confidence the Board of Directors claimed that "at this time, no changes have been made to the club's board". That allows for an inference that at another time Joanna Byrne will be forced out.
Bill Shankly, the iconic Scot who managed Liverpool, famously quipped that football is not a matter of life and death, it is much more serious than that. Indeed it is - where one team represents a genocidal state and society it is deeply seriousa and societal attitudes to it should not be swayed by money.
As a friend from Belfast said to me last evening in a text message:
Commentator on RaidiĆ³ na Gaeltachta now asking if there is any room for a moral stance in sport any more. The only conclusion you can draw is that money is more important. We're living in horrible times. It appears there's no room for racism in sport unless you're representing a country that slaughtered the bulk of a hundred thousand Palestinians, and the genocide continues.
As a Drogheda United season ticket holder who writes a match report after every home game, if Joanna Byrne is forced out I will not set foot inside the stadium again, unless and until she returns to her position. I will opt to watch the Drogs for the sake of the players - who bear no responsibility in this situation - only at some away games. I stand fully with Joanna Byrne and stand equally fully against the Board of Bollixes who have sought to silence her ethical opposition to genocide.
The Board should take an early shower, not Joanna Byrne. Even if its members use the BDS disapproved Head and Shoulders shampoo, she still stands head and shoulders above them.
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