NORTHERN IRISH SOCCER OWN-GOAL

Some time ago, the Irish Football Association gave the green light to teams in the Irish League to play their matches on a Sunday. Little interest was shown in this option until Sunday 7 September 2008 when the Irish Premier League fixture between Glentoran and Bangor kicked off at 3pm at the Oval, in the heart of Protestant east Belfast.  The reason given for this first Sunday match was fixture congestion caused by the heavy rain and flooding (which had forced its postponement the previous day), but a precedent has now been set, and we fear it is only a matter of time before other soccer matches are held on the Lord's Day. Whilst we sympathise with Christian players and officials who are put under considerable pressure in such circumstances, we were disappointed that some Christians were prepared to justify their participation in the match on the flimsy logic that it was a "one-off". The Bible tells us "them that honour me I will honour" (1 Sam 2:30), and we urge all believers engaged in soccer to refuse to compromise on this matter, whatever the cost. Evangelical Protestant protestors outside the grounds at the Oval faced verbal abuse from some football supporters. Of course, we were told that it was a great "family occasion" and that Sunday is the only day when families can spend time together. However, football matches used to be played at 3pm on a Saturday across the nation, and in those days people worked longer hours and often didn't finish work until Saturday lunchtime. There is absolutely no reason why a kick-off at 3pm on a Saturday could not also be a great family occasion.

Northern Ireland's morning newspaper "The News Letter" made the following helpful and encouraging comment in its Morning View editorial (8 September) - "Some will argue that this is a further sign of Northern Ireland society 'maturing' and falling into line with Great Britain. Yet for others, this will be another sad milestone in the gradual erosion of the Lord's Day. Religious faith is still strong here and many people will be deeply uneasy that football has crossed this line, placing Christian players and fans, as well as churches close to grounds, in invidious positions. Six days should be enough to accommodate football - and club officials ought to think long and hard before taking any steps to make yesterday's performance a more regular occurrence".