The poster was taunting Scots over their No vote in the independence referendum
Irish bookmaker Paddy Power seem to have accidentally offended the wrong people.
The Republic of Ireland were playing Scotland in Dublin in a EURO 2016 qualifier and Paddy Power could not resist a jab at the traveling Scots fans. Last September Scotland held a referendum on independence from the United Kingdom the NO campaign won by 55%-45%. The Irish Republic left the UK in the early 20th century.
Paddy Power erected a giant billboard misquoting a line from the film Braveheart in which William Wallace says:
“You can take our lives, but you’ll never take our freedom.”
The Irish bookmakers cheekily changed the line to:
“You may take our points but at least we have our freedom (ya wee pussies).”
It was a humorous (and entirely justifiable) jibe at the Scots, although most polls suggest that the vast majority of the Tartan Army would probably hold pro-Independence sympathies and the traveling contingent is likely to have contained a YES-voting majority.
No-one in Scotland took much umbrage but one man who did is former Irish and Manchester United captain Roy Keane. Paddy Power had replaced the image of Australian actor Mel Gibson who played William Wallace in the film, with that of Keane complete with Braveheart face paint.
The game finished 1-1 with Chicago Fire’s Shaun Maloney scoring for the Scots (later downgraded to an own goal), a result that dented the Irish chances of qualification.
Keane is now the assistant manager of the Republic and it appears he has lost what sense of humour he ever had. News has emerged this week that he is suing Paddy Power for the use of his image.
According to the Guardian Newspaper, his lawyers filed a Dublin high court action on Monday ‘which claims tens of thousands of Euros in compensation on the grounds that the billboard infringed his image rights’. According to a separate Irish Independent report, the bookmaker could face a bill of €100,000 ($112,000) if Keane wins the case.
Keane’s actions in bringing what some may see as a frivolous lawsuit do not come at the most fortunate time for his employer, the Football Association of Ireland.
News came out recently that they had accepted a $5m bribe to drop a lawsuit against FIFA for losses sustained out of the Thierry Henry handball that was not called in a 2010 World Cup qualifier against France.
Perhaps he is waiting to see if someone will bribe him to withdraw the law suit.
Also See:
FIFA paid Irish “bribe” to drop legal case after Thierry Henry ‘Hand of Gaul’ incident
The MLS players who may fly the flag at EURO 2016
