John Fallon: As polling day looms football has emerged as an election issue

Concerns around match-fixing are usually confined to the professional game but the FAI have laid down the law by imposing an eight-month ban on a player involved in the amateur sphere.

ELECTION ISSUE: Irish football will rely on goals in Cardiff on Friday for an adrenaline rush but it’s the polls back home which may have a longer impact. Picture:  Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

IRISH football will rely on goals in Cardiff on Friday for an adrenaline rush but it’s the polls back home which may have a longer impact.

Sport – and in particular football – has emerged as a General Election issue, perhaps somewhat attributable to the FAI encouraging inquisitions when the doorbell rings.