Duff says crowd trouble ‘has to stop’

• Published date: 12 April 2024
• Publication title: Irish Times (Dublin, Ireland)

As the north Dublin clubs meet tonight, Bohemians visiting Shelbourne at an ever-expanding Tolka Park, the latter’s fans join the former’s fans in having to swallow an away-day ban

Both punishments stem from a supporter flinging flares on to the field of play. As a result Bohs fans were denied a trip to Drogheda recently, while Shels’ travelling gang cannot attend the Galway United game at Eamonn Deacy Park next Friday.

“It’s a Shelbourne problem at the minute,” said Damien Duff this week, “but I don’t think anyone can argue that it’s not rife around the league.”

Rarely does a Dublin derby pass without the fire brigade being forced on to the grass to dose flames. Bohs’ Cian Byrne was struck on the arm in February, hit by one of his own fans, and linesman Dermot Broughton was caught by a missile launched from the Shels end last Friday at Weavers Park.

“I’ve had a young Shelbourne fan not feeling safe at a game and I had to give him a big hug: ‘here, you’ll be all right, I’ll look after you’,” said Duff.

“You want to feel safe, and if you don’t feel safe you’re not going to want to go to the game. It has to stop.”

Apparently self-policing by supporters is not effective with Shamrock Rovers and St Patrick’s Athletic promising a “zero tolerance” policy around pyrotechnic displays.

All eyes turn to the 4,700 crammed into Tolka tonight. On a brighter note the Drumcondra venue’s capacity will increase to 5,700, with two small terraces to open before St Pat’s visit in a fortnight.

If the best part of having Duff as a permanent fixture in the League of Ireland is his passionate outbursts, the second best part is his level headedness after the fact (he invited the young Shelbourne fan who hit Broughton to training this week so he could...