Roy Hodgson condemns England fans for IRA chants

ROY HODGSON has condemned political chants from fans aimed at the IRA as being nothing to do with supporting England.

00:10, Thu, Apr 2, 2015 | UPDATED: 08:39, Thu, Apr 2, 2015

Roy Hodgson GETTY

Roy Hodgson has condemned England fan's IRA chants

Anti-IRA chanting could clearly be heard during England's 1-1 draw with Italy in Turin and were also prevalent in November's 3-1 win over Scotland in Glasgow.

The subject is particularly sensitive given that England's next match on June 7 is a friendly in Dublin against the Republic of Ireland, and the FA have been working with fans groups behind-the-scenes to make sure there is as little tension as possible during what has historically been a difficult fixture.

Hodgson's message is a simple one. "I'm a football coach and very keen that we get the support that we get of course," he said. "I love the fact that our fans come to game but there's no way I can justify or be glad about any political chants of that nature.

Italians lack of passion affected us - Hodgson [AMBIENT]

We can only hope that in some way we can put that right before we go to Ireland
Roy Hodgson

"We can only hope that in some way we can put that right before we go to Ireland because the last thing we want in Ireland is anything other than a very good football match which again puts us to the test like the Italy has done."

The riot that got the fixture abandoned in 1995 at Lansdowne Road remains one of English football's lowest points and it was not until last May that the respective FAs could consider a return fixture and were rewarded with a largely incident-free 1-1 draw at Wembley.

"We have consistently urged supporters to show respect and not to chant songs that could be regarded as insulting to others, particularly from a religious or political perspective," the FA said after the chants reared their head again at Celtic Park last year.

Specific initiatives are likely to be revealed nearer the time but the authorities hope that the 1pm kick-off time will contribute to an environment when bridges can continue to be built.