Call off Oval boycott, plead Glentoran as Blues fans hit out at legal threat over song

GLENTORAN has urged Linfield fans considering boycotting their league clash at the weekend to think of the harm it will do to both clubs and the local game.

The Linfield Supporters Trust (LST) has called on fans of the club to boycott Saturday’s big Irish League match against Glentoran at the Oval in response to a complaint made to the PSNI about the playing of The Billy Boys song over the public address system when the sides met on Boxing Day at Windsor Park.

The trust, a powerful body with around 400 members, issued a statement saying that they were backing the boycott in support of the Linfield fans who were involved in playing the banned tune. The LST claimed those supporters now face the threat of legal action.

However, Glentoran has said it is the innocent party that has been caught in the middle. The east Belfast club stressed that it realised Linfield Football Club was in no way behind the call for a boycott.

Glentoran director Ian Clarke told the Belfast Telegraph any action would harm both clubs and the league. He said: “Glentoran in no way — be it directly or indirectly — raised any objection or complaint to any source about the pre-match playlist at Windsor Park on Boxing Day and nor do we intend to do so. We are innocent in this matter.

“Glentoran and Linfield are rivals solely on the pitch and any boycott only harms both the clubs and the Irish League. It is the wrong thing to do.” He added: “We know this call for a boycott has not come from Linfield Football Club and it is only a particular group of supporters that have made this call and I would urge them to rethink what they are planning to do.”

Asked for its response, a spokesman for Linfield Football Club said: “The club are dealing with the issue that has raised this; that being the playing of the tune at the game. In regard to the actions of supporters, we have no comment to make.”

Following the incident on December 26 last year, Linfield apologised for the song being played over the PA system, insisting that it would never happen again.

The LST, founded in 2013 to promote discussion between the fans and the club, said a complaint was made about the choice of songs played, which could result in legal action.

“To show our support for the Linfield fans who were on duty on Boxing Day, we are therefore supporting a call to boycott the Glentoran v Linfield match at the Oval this Saturday and are asking all Bluemen to do likewise,” it said.

Any boycott would have a major impact on the gate receipts Glentoran would receive from hosting Saturday’s match.

Fans who attended the game in December, which ended in a 1-1 draw, said the most offensive lyrics in the Billy Boys song were replaced, but the official line from the club was that the incident was unacceptable.