Kernaghan hits out at ‘ridiculous’ 18-year wait for showdown

Two former Republic of Ireland internationals have hit out at both the FAI and the English FA for the length of time it has taken to arrange a friendly with England.

Tonight’s match at Wembley has been 18 years in the making ], which has been described as “ridiculous” by Alan Kernaghan. The 22-time capped defender believes both football associations dragged their heels in fulfilling the fixture after the last friendly was abandoned in Lansdowne Road in 1995.

Kernaghan, who played that night in Dublin, insists there were plenty of opportunities to host the game since then despite Lansdowne and Wembley both being rebuilt.

“It is absolutely ridiculous how long it has taken for them to organise this match. After what happened at Lansdowne Road, they should have sorted it out and got another game organised,” said Kernaghan.

“It was such a shame what happened at Lansdowne because we thought that sort of violence and behaviour had disappeared — it belonged in the ’80s. But you can’t let those people win.

“This match has been a long time in coming for the Irish supporters, but a lot of Irish, and English, players have missed out on playing in that rivalry, which is a real shame.”

Former striker David Kelly, who scored on that February evening in 1995 before the game was called off, agrees with his old colleague and is glad that the game is finally going ahead.

“It would have been great to do the game a few years ago, because I think what happened that night [in 1995] was terrible but football has moved on since then,” said Kelly.

“Ireland versus England has always been a special game — the fans really enjoy it and so do the players. It has been too long for them not to have played each other.”