The Hooligan Element seems to be Back

By Neil Ravenscroft
October 10 2002

Usually, I try to keep this column to either lighthearted matters, or discussion of the team. However, this week, I’ve had to turn to more serious concerns off the pitch.

I hasn’t been a very good week for the fans of the football club, but not because of results. The win at Forest and the fight back for a point at Derby were quite the opposite. However, it is the behaviour of a minority of fans that worries me.

The incident at Derby last Saturday, when one of our own “fans” assaulted two others, has been well publicised on this and other web sites, so there is no need to go into that again. My postings on the message board show my feelings on the matter well enough.

The other thing that has bothered me this week, though, is a long running thread on the Rivals site, about the singing of the “Pope and IRA” song.
I find the lyrics offensive and always have done, as they are an insult to all Roman Catholics, a fair number of whom, I presume, we have in our side. Certainly I would assume that the likelihood is that Jorge, Zigor, Junior and Pedro are, coming as they do from predominantly Catholic countries. Many other members of the squad could well be also.

Worse than that, the “song” is associated with Glasgow Rangers and the worst kind of sectarian bigotry that elements of their fans come out with. It certainly has no connection with Walsall FC, or football, other than the tenuous link via Rangers. I can only presume that it has got into the club via some of the extreme right wing elements who are hangers on at all football clubs, namely the BNP and National Front, both of whom have associations with it, witnessed by the disgraceful behaviour of some England fans in Dublin not so long ago.

Granted that a lot of people posted in the Rivals thread attacking the singing of the song, but a surprising number defended it, saying that they couldn’t see anything wrong with it, as it was just “anti IRA”. I am no apologist for the behaviour of that particular organisation, but I cannot see why fans would want an association with the equally abhorrent Protestant paramilitaries.

What’s next? Are we going to see an outbreak of the sort of racist chants we used to get at football grounds? Are the politically far right getting an influence among fans that we thought had gone?

I think this is a worrying development and hope that the club realise that the notices about chanting prominently displayed outside the ground should also cover this particularly offensive song.

You might agree, or disagree, but I think that action needs to be taken. Fans should be concentrating on Walsall (and the odd bit of banter with the opposition), not getting caught up in politics and the bigotry of the Northern Ireland situation.