'He was raging' - Former Ireland striker David Kelly reflects on Lansdowne Road riot

Former Republic of Ireland striker David Kelly has revealed the late Jack Charlton was the angriest he ever saw him following the Lansdowne Road riot which occurred 30 years ago today.

Seats in the Upper West Stand of the old stadium were ripped up, missiles were thrown and some England 'fans' fought pitched battles with gardai on February 15, 1995.

The trouble, which was orchestrated by Combat 18 - a far-right group - erupted after David Kelly gave Ireland the lead (pictured below) in the 22nd minute.

The game was stopped within minutes and the players were led to the safety of the dressing rooms, before the match was eventually abandoned.

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Speaking on the 30th anniversary of the riot, David Kelly said the players on the pitch did not initially realise the seriousness of what was happening off the pitch.

"The game kicked off again (after he scored) and there was a little bit of sort of murmur in the air that something was happening but, as players, you are just trying to get on with your job and you don't really notice what's happening in the stadium and in the crowd," he told Anton Savage on Newstalk.

When asked about the reaction of Jack Charlton - the then Republic of Ireland manager - he said: "He was raging. I'd seen Jack angry on quite a few occasions throughout my time with the national team but nothing could ever come close to how angry he was," said David Kelly, who scored nine goals in 26 international games during his playing career.

"I think the overriding thing for Jack was the disappointment of it - he was a World Cup winner with England all those years before and I just think that he just felt that those hooligans,  those Combat 18 far right movement, which is what they were, had just completely ruined what was going to be a very enjoyable evening."

David Kelly, whose professional career lasted for nearly 20 years, says the reaction of the Ireland and England players to the riot was one of disgust. "You go to a football game with your family to watch a match and to enjoy it - you don't expect for one moment that benches and steel bars and bits of chairs are going to be thrown from an upper stand onto a lower stand where supporters had mixed," he said.

Positive development

The former striker says the one positive development of the riots is the improved focus on safety at stadiums and a better matchday experience.

"If anything good came out of the game itself, it's the fact that stadiums were looked after better from there on in.  CCTV has been introduced in every part of every stadium and I think the overall organisation of all the people involved (on matchday) has improved - it was very very difficult for everybody to stop what was happening (in February 1995) but the bonus of it all is that everything is so well cared for these days and that makes the game so much better."

PICTURES: Sportsfile