What should have been a relaxed and festive morning for Ireland coach Vera Pauw was marred by unwanted controversy. The Republic of Ireland manager offered an overblown apology in Dublin for video that surfaced of Irish players celebrating their 1-0 win over Scotland by singing ‘Ooh ah, up the ‘Ra’, a sectarian song typically associated with supporting of the IRA. .
Addressing the media in Malahide, Pauw chose to address the issue immediately and spoke at length about his disappointment in the episode, stating that the players realize they have been let down.
He also said that the player who released the content was “very, very sorry” and heartbroken after learning the extent of the bug.
“We found out about a clip that has gone viral, outside the locker room,” Pauw said. “From the bottom of our hearts, we are so sorry because there is no excuse to hurt people. It was unnecessary. I have already talked to several players about it and the one who posted it is devastated, she is crying in her room. She is so sorry, but there is no excuse for it.
“If I had been there, to be honest, I wouldn’t have recognized (the meaning of the song) because I’m a foreigner, I don’t know the song, I don’t know what it means.
“But we are a team that is always respectful to everyone and respect is the first line of my first meeting with the players. That’s why I feel so comfortable in this team because there is always respect for everyone and the fact that this has happened. , there is no excuse for it.
“We can’t hurt people. It was part of the moment, but that’s not an excuse. So it’s also an educational moment. We need to take responsibility any time, any time.”
Pauw later said she had already started preparing for next summer’s tournament, with her main area of concern being the fitness and conditioning work being done on her players at club level.
Pauw said that in June she predicted an “epidemic” of injuries and said she is constantly worried about how they train.
As it is, he detailed an incident of a player joining Ireland complaining that “her legs were burning in our first session”.
“Why did his legs burn? Because every gym session they had to lift weights and every gym session had to be heavier and heavier,” Pauw said.
Ireland and West Ham star Jess Ziu, 20, recently suffered a cruciate ligament injury in his knee.
“If Jess Ziu works out twice (a week) and (then) jumps to five, six times, plus three gym sessions, everyone understands she gets injured,” Pauw said. “If it hadn’t been now, it would be next month. The responsibility on that is huge and I wish there was more education on that from FIFA and UEFA, on what the demands of football are and how you train.” , how do you keep the players in one piece?
Pauw said that while she will inevitably be ‘punished’ or questioned about her strength and conditioning comments, she has studied extensively in the area.
“If they don’t analyze the game and know what the demands are on the players, if they put programs in the players that are destined for rugby, you have to go back to school first before you screw up any more players.”
Asked if this is a widespread problem in the game, Pauw said yes, but stated that some clubs are aware of the situation.
“I worked with the Houston Dash on a program where there were two or three games a week with no injuries. But you have to know what you’re doing. I’ve got coaches telling me, ‘Who are you to say something like that? ‘ I said, ‘ Well, it’s my responsibility to keep the players fit.’ They tell me no, ‘That’s the doctor’s responsibility.’ As if the doctor is specialized in training methods. That’s the answer I get.
“If you put players on squats or heavy weights every session, you don’t know what you’re doing.”
Pauw declined to speculate on how far Ireland could go in the finals in Australia and New Zealand, insisting much depends on the draw in Auckland on Saturday.
“We’re not going there to be there and enjoy Australia,” he said. “We are there to win. That will always be the case.”
On the possibility of a crowd playing a friendly with European champions England at the Aviva Stadium beforehand, Pauw nodded.
“England in the finals. We need to build it up, like we did last year. We built up our endurance and hopefully we can do it next year too. Oh, if we can fill the Aviva, then I’m more than happy.” play (England) at Aviva because we’ve already qualified.
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