What a bunch of miserable, old, buffet-munching bureaucrats.
Given some of the headlines we’ve read about football’s governing bodies in recent years, you’d think the folks at Uefa would have more important things to be unhappy about than this…
Wales’ Euro 2016 run has been one of the stories of the sporting year and the heartwarming images of their players celebrating on the pitch with their children were beamed to every corner of the globe following their last 16 triumph over Northern Ireland.
We saw more of the same when the Welsh beat Belgium in the quarter-final in Lille last Friday night.
Enough to bring a smile to anyone’s face, isn’t it? Apart from the killjoys at Uefa, that is.
According to David Griffiths, president of the Welsh Football Association, the governing body for football in Europe have frowned upon it.
“Uefa [is] frowning on it unfortunately because it’s encroachment on the pitch,” he is quoted as saying in an article in The Daily Telegraph. “But the team is run like a family and the boys have been together for so long.”
Compare this to the scenes in Wexford Park on Saturday at half-time of the home side’s All-Ireland SHC qualifier win over Offaly.
Always amazing how they clear this pitch at half time pic.twitter.com/e5C307kzVl
— Mikey Stafford (@me_stafford) July 2, 2016
As is always the case in the Clonard venue, the half-time whistle was cue for hundreds of children to peg it out on to the hallowed turf for a quick puck/kick-about.
Intercounty stars trudging off at the break are ignored as these young players race to get in as much action as they can before the start of the second half. When they are told to clear the playing field the children leave as quickly as they appeared.
Uefa are dealing with larger security concerns than the Wexford county board and have much bigger crowds to manage but, if they want to see what “pitch encroachment” looks like, they should head down Wexford Park some time.
They can also see how they are peacefully and sensibly dealt with.
