Updated at 12.17
THE FOOTBALL Association of Ireland have apologised for any offence caused by a song sung in the Ireland dressing room after last night’s World Cup qualifying play-off win over Scotland.
In a statement released this morning, Ireland manager Vera Pauw has said the squad apologise to anyone offended by the ‘content of the post-match celebrations’.
Footage on social media emerged showing some players appearing to be singing Celtic Symphony by The Wolfe Tones, which includes the lines ‘Ooh ah, up the Ra.’
Pauw also added that a review will take place with the players to ‘remind them of their responsibilities’ in this regard.
Ireland’s 1-0 win over Scotland in Glasgow saw them book a place in next summer’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
The statement in full reads:
“The Football Association of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland Ireland Women’s National Team Manager Vera Pauw apologise for any offence caused by a song sung by players in the Ireland dressing room after the FIFA Women’s World Cup Qualifying Play-off win over Scotland at Hampden Park on Tuesday night.
“Ireland manager Vera Pauw said: “We apologise from the bottom of our hearts to anyone who has been offended by the content of the post-match celebrations after we had just qualified for the World Cup.
“We will review this with the players and remind them of their responsibilities in this regard. I have spoken with players this morning and we are sorry collectively for any hurt caused, there can be no excuse for that.”
Speaking to reporters at a press event today, Pauw, elaborated on the incident.
“We were made aware of a clip that has gone viral, out of the dressing room,” she said.
“From the bottom of our hearts, we are so sorry because there is no excuse for hurting people. It was unnecessary. I have spoken already with several players about it and the one who posted it is devastated, she is crying in her room. She is so, so sorry.
“But there is no excuse for it. If I would have been there, to be honest, I would not have recognised [the song's significance] because I am a foreigner, I don’t know the song, I don’t know what it means.
“But we are a team that is always respectful to everybody and respect is the first line of my first meeting with the players. That is why I feel so at home in this team because there is always respect for everybody and the fact that this has happened, there is no excuse for it. We cannot hurt people. It was part of the moment but that is not an excuse.
“So it is an educational moment also. We need to take responsibility at any moment, in any time.
“People said to me, ‘If it was in private….’ No, even in a private atmosphere you cannot do it because respect is something that carries you through everything, through your whole life and we, yeah, we have that value as the highest point.
“For anything that we do, we clean up the dressing room, always, we never leave stuff there, up to the message we send out and how we deal with people, the respect that we have for the people around us
“I’m responsible for the players, so on behalf of the players and the staff and the association, I would offer my sincere apologies to all the people that we have hurt.”
Asked whether players were disappointed that the controversy has distracted from last night’s historic victory, she added: “Yeah, but not in the fact that it puts a shadow over the celebrations, they are disappointed that it happened and that they did not realise what they were doing. That is again no excuse. It shouldn’t have happened and we are deeply sorry for it.
“Even though nobody meant anything with it, it still is wrong because we hurt people and that is the first thing in our line, the first sentence, in my team everybody has respect and that is why I feel [it's important] because there is always respect to everybody around us. So we are more disappointed in ourselves that we have overstepped that rule than anything else and we are so sorry that we have hurt people.”
The Irish coach also rejected suggestions that the main issue was the fact that the players were filmed in the dressing room.
“That is the mistake that people often make, that they think: ‘Well, it shouldn’t have gone out.’ No, it shouldn’t have happened. It’s not that it’s gone out, it shouldn’t have happened. So without cameras, it is the same thing because also then you do not show respect to the people that have suffered.”
She continued: “Of course, I asked: ‘Did you know what you were singing?’ And they said, ‘Of course, we know it but we didn’t feel it. It was not meant to hurt anyone’. But that is no excuse. So if you know it, that means that if you have respect for people, and if you know what happened and you know the history and you know the background, because everybody knows that, then it shouldn’t have happened. Deeply sorry. Even if it’s in the emotions of the celebrations, it’s as wrong as when it’s planned. It shouldn’t have happened.”
On the player in her room that was crying, Pauw added: “I said to her that it is wrong but not only wrong from her, but it’s also wrong that that song has been sung with the meaning that it has.
“I did not know it because I just said if I had been there I would not have recognised it because I don’t know because I am a foreigner and they need to take responsibility for our first rule that we have respect for everybody.
“Even if it doesn’t mean anything to them, they (still) know it, but it doesn’t mean anything to them because they’re young and they haven’t experienced those moments.
“We have a responsibility for the respect for the people who are hurt and who are offended by it. Your freedom ends when you step into the freedom of somebody else, that is what we say to each other always. You can do whatever you want but as soon as you hurt somebody it’s wrong. And we’re sorry for that and we want to offer our deepest apology to the people that we have offended.”
Originally published at 10.50
