John Delaney’s got a bit of a bad rap the last few weeks, but Uefa have taken on board his suggestion that Irish fans should be given a special award for their contribution to Euro 2012.
Although the Boys in Green gave us precious little to shout about on the pitch, the Irish fans were undoubtedly the best group of supporters at the Euros, earning acclaim from international commentators and even high profile players such as Robin van Persie and Fabrice Muamba.
The Polish people certainly welcomed our visit, going as far as to stage a farewell party in Poznan on the day of our final group game and singing ‘Stand Up for the Boys in Green’ in a fanzone ahead of the Spain v Portugal semi-final.
While the vast amount of videos we published on the site over the last few weeks was a testament to the sheer craic had by the thousands of Irish fans in places like Sopot, Poznan and Gdansk when the football wasn’t going on, they were also brilliant inside the stadiums when Ireland were playing.
Irish fans raised the roof at all times, never more poignantly than when ‘The Fields of Athenry’ rang around Gdansk while Spain were busy teaching us a lesson on the pitch.
At a press conference this morning, Uefa Chief Exectuive Gianni Infantino confirmed that the Irish fans will be presented with a special award by a Uefa executive committee in recognition of our fans’ contribution to the tournament and that Michel Platini himself will travel to Dublin to present it.
“The executive committee has decided to give a special award to the Irish football fans,” Infantino said.
“Everyone was very impressed by the fans of the national team of the Republic of Ireland who came to Poland. The team’s results were mitigated by the fans. (UEFA) president (Michel) Platini will go to Ireland to give the award.”
We’re not sure how Roy Keane and others who backed up his rant about the Irish mentality will greet this news, but at least we’re taking home some silverware from the Euros and when the award does arrive, John Delaney will no doubt make a speech like the one below to honour our brilliant supporters.
