Ireland fans protest Luxembourg player with ‘red card’ over domestic abuse conviction

Fans of the Ireland football team showed their support to victims of domestic abuse at the Stade de Luxembourg on Tuesday evening during a friendly match with the Red Lions.

The fans, clad in green jerseys in the away section, not only waved red cards but also vociferously booed Luxembourg’s Gerson Rodrigues, who had his appeal against a conviction for domestic violence rejected at the end of April, every time he touched the ball in the first half of the match.

At one stage, Rodrigues appeared to goad the Irish fans, a gesture that earned him a talking to from Austrian referee Stefan Ebner.

On the pitch, the action was less frantic as the two teams played out a goalless draw that only came to life in the final ten minutes or so when both sides created a couple of chances – Jack Taylor coming closest for the visitors with a fierce shot that ricocheted off the underside of the crossbar.

Luxembourg women’s rights group CID-Fraen an Gender continued their protested against the selection of Rodrigues by head coach Luc Holtz and the Luxembourg Football Federation by hanging banners from the stadium railings. But unlike at the game against Slovenia last Friday, security staff did not make any attempt to remove the banners on Tuesday evening.

Irish protest organisers ‘appalled’

The Irish protest was organised by two individuals living in Luxembourg, who said they are “appalled” by the disregard shown to domestic abuse victims and free speech advocacy by including Rodrigues in the Luxembourg national team. They also criticised the decision by the FLF to exclude Le Quotidien journalist Julien Mollereau from press conferences and the violent reception that protestors received from officials at the Slovenia match.

They created red cards with a QR code linking to a website about the initiative which were handed out in The Pyg pub in Clausen ahead of the match, as well as in the stadium.

“People of all genders within Luxembourg have voiced their disgust that domestic abuser Rodrigues is permitted to be a role model and represent the flag of Luxembourg. It wasn’t enough. Opposing domestic violence transcends languages and cultures, so we are delighted that the Ireland fans supported us in our message tonight,” the organisers said in a statement after the game. “Fans had access to all information, printed on every item, so were very aware of why we were asking for their support. And they truly embraced it.”

Women’s rights group says Rordrigues playing the victim is ‘typical’

Emilie Boland published this Instagram story last week. © Photo credit: instagram/emilieboland

In a lengthy statement issued on social media on Tuesday, Rodrigues accused his former girlfriend of “marketing” off the publicity of his case. He appeared to imply his innocence, saying the court verdict is not his truth. He had previously posted a message saying “Only God can judge me”.

CID-Fraen an Gender was having none of it. “That is typical behaviour of a perpetrator [of domestic violence],” the group’s spokesperson Cléo Thoma told RTL ahead of the match. “He is portraying himself as the victim, which we find totally hallucinatory.”

Rodrigues’ former partner had posted a picture of her injuries via her Instagram account as part of a message to the FLF not to let him play.

Funding withdrawn

The organisers of the Irish fans protest said that they were happy that the government was cutting some funding to the FLF as a reaction to the federation’s poor handling of the case.

Sports Minister Georges Mischo in parliament on Tuesday had said funding for the team from a nation branding budget would be withdrawn.

Ireland is no stranger to having a sporting idol be found guilty of violence against women. In November last year a jury in a civil case in Ireland found that the Irish mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor assaulted Nikita Hand in a Dublin hotel in December 2018. He was ordered to pay her more than €248,000 (£206,000) in damages. McGregor, who has said he plans to run for the Irish presidency, is appealing the ruling.

The Irish organisers of the protest on Tuesday said that women in Luxembourg and abroad have had enough of having their safety ignored. “Not just perceived safety in public, but the psychological safety knowing their violent abusers are free to find them after receiving non-custodial sentences – where’s the justice?” they asked.  

And they questioned the message that Luc Holtz and the FLF were sending by allowing Rodrigues to proudly wear the national team jersey following his conviction. “Is that the message Luxembourg wants to send, in the age of Gisèle Pelicot, Andrew Tate, and Netflix’s Adolescence? It’s time for change.”

The organisers said that they have vowed to set up a Luxembourg branch of Ask for Angela – a UK scheme that helps anyone who is feeling vulnerable on a night out to get the support they need.