I’ve been filming down in England all week, and as you can imagine nothing has really been said regarding the situation between the Scottish fans possibly booing Irish players James McCarthy and Aiden McGeady.

But thankfully the internet keeps you updated with Twitter rows brewing between those that think the ‘Tartan Army’ should boo and those that think that they shouldn’t.

Both sides of the debate have their own merits but for me I think that the home fans should feel free to boo the players if that’s what they want to do.

For those of you that are unaware, McGeady and McCarthy were born and brought up in Scotland. They were spotted and developed by Scottish clubs.

Then for various reasons they chose to represent the Republic of Ireland instead of Scotland, they qualified for Ireland as they had Irish grandparents.

Now it doesn’t matter why they made that decision. Whether they feel Irish (I know of plenty of people in Glasgow, who were born and brought up here, that call Ireland home) or that the SFA made a balls up early on and didn’t make them feel wanted. The fact remains that they decided to play for Ireland and they were free to make that decision. They didn’t do anything that is illegal.

From a day to day perspective these players shouldn’t need to put up with any abuse for making that call. It’s a decision that pains me, as both are quality players and they would have helped out Scotland massively. But you need to respect it and move on.

But when it comes to playing against the nation of their birth, then surely its only right that the Scottish fans can also get the right to decide what to. If they choose to boo these players then so be it. They have paid for their tickets and feel that these boys turned down an opportunity to play for Scotland, an opportunity that these fans would give up their right arms for. Some supporters see it as mind games and a way to unnerve the opponents.

Now I am not a big fan of booing, I really don’t see the point. But I have always said its a fans right. They pay for tickets and that goes to grassroots and helps pay for the players wages (club level – but again remember that these two players started in Scotland).

So if its the will of the people to boo these players then they should be allowed to do it all night long (Although injury might rob McCarthy of his chance of playing at Celtic Park). The Scots fans should be wary though, as they might get a reaction from the players that isn’t a positive one for your country. Aiden McGeady has already shown us during this qualifying campaign that he can be a vital match winner.

Now lets be clear on this, there is a big difference between booing a player and abusing them. As a nation, we cannot scream obscenities at anyone especially if they are aimed at someones heritage. That would be racist and bigoted. We have to move away from all of that nonsense and take that out of our footballing culture.

I really hope that we see a big game on Friday, that has the feeling of a derby match. With plenty of drama and emotions. With blood, guts and thunder. Some goals and skills would be great too.

I am desperately hoping for a Scottish victory, not because it’s against Ireland and not because of McGeady or McCarthy. I want that win because Group D is extremely tight and we need to take as many points as possible if we are going to reach Euro 2016. It’s as simple as that.

I just hope the Tartan Army enjoy the game and respect the opposition, even if they feel the need to boo them!

Posted on November 13th, 2014 by scott
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