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Team GB with no Scots gets green light

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Published Date: 28 May 2009
By Angus Wright
A BRITISH football team for the 2012 Olympic Games is expected to be confirmed as a reality today – without the involvement of the Scottish Football Association.
The board of the SFA met this week to discuss the long-running saga. The SFA has continually rejected the concept of a British team, believing it to be a threat to the identity of the Scotland national team, which exists through Fifa privilege.

But recently there have been concerns that an intransigent stance is damaging the SFA politically, and a proposal was discussed whereby a British team could be entered in the 2012 Games – provided it is all-English.

The Welsh and Northern Irish FAs are expected to adopt the same position as their Scottish counterparts.





The full article contains 131 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 27 May 2009 10:05 PM
  • Source: The Scotsman
  • Location: Edinburgh
  • Related Topics: London Olympics 2012
 
1

Fraser MacDonald,

Hitchin 28/05/2009 00:51:37
I would have no objection to this if the English won the right to represent the UK by playing off against the other home countries.

However, giving England the right to play as Britain by default is a disgrace. How often do we hear foreigners (and English commentators) confuse England with the UK already, without allowing the England team to play under the guise of Team GB?

Why has no consideration been given to entering a British team as long as it is all-Scottish, all-Welsh or all-Northern Irish?
2

Alan B,

28/05/2009 01:34:04
Agree it should be a play off.

3

James,

Dundee 28/05/2009 06:08:40
Lets end the anomaly, and like in many sports, Scotland shoould have its own olympic team.
4

Tynietiger,

28/05/2009 07:55:45
Scotland twice qualified to take part in olympics football tournament as team GB but stuck to their principles and refused to take part.

In the eyes of the World England is GB.
5

Mikey,

28/05/2009 10:30:28
Why don't we have our own olympic team? We are a nation within a confederation! Let's stop pretending we're English and start believing we're Scots!

Or was Jim Sillars right after all?
6

Penicuik Laddie,

28/05/2009 11:15:46
a play off is even more dangerous as both FIFA Vice President David Will and Craig Brown have already stated as this would open the door for a GB team to be played, following a play off for World Cup and Euro finals... Gordon Smith should resign over this. He is the trojan horse at the SFA and his involvement in this, when he supported it before becoming SFA Chief Exec, demonstrates he is not fit for the post and is a genuine threat to Scottish football. Go back to Brighton Smith
7

Toque,

Brighton 28/05/2009 12:53:26
Speed the day when England has it's own olympic team.

I suppose we England supporters are to be expected to cheer along a team comprised of English players playing in a Brit kit.

I can just imagine Gordon Broon, back home in Fife (after being sacked by an English electorate that never voted for him), wearing his Team Britishness tracksuit, supping some Buckfast, and twirling his Union Jack to this bollocksfest. And he'll probably be sitting their with his convict pals Moonie and Darling.
8

Exiled Bear,

28/05/2009 21:03:31
anyway, back to the subject, I'd love to see a British team playing at the Olympics, if we could have a FIFA guarantee that we wouldn't be persecuted against for Euro's or WC at an International footie level.

Why not a British u21 team for the Olympics, which I am sure we could contribute a few players too.

Bizzarely, if FIFA did start making noises about a British team for all International football it would do more for a move to Scottish independence than anything the SNP currently says or does.
9

Brianwci,

11/08/2009 01:31:57
#6 Penicuik Laddie says: "a play off is even more dangerous....."

Agree with you completely PL. Scotland wants nothing to do with anything connected with GB....and that goes for the football as well.

 

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