Sir, - I would like to say that which has been unsaid in the media here about the decision by the Irish hockey team to appeal the result of their penalty shoot-out with Lithuania. The erroneous decision in the course of the penalties was in the Irish team's favour, yet they still lost. To force a replay of the shoot-out on those grounds was, I am sad to say, most unsporting.
Everyone would agree that it is preferable for a team to be taking their penalties first - there is greater pressure on the other team. As I understand it, in hockey the order should be switched if the teams are level after five penalties each. The officials in this case instructed the teams to continue in the same order (despite the Irish captain questioning this). This meant that the pressure continued to be on the Lithuanians. Yet they still won.
It is not unusual for teams to call for replays because a bad decision went against them, but for a team to do so when a wrong decision went in their favour flies in the face of fair play.
For the Irish team to say "rules are rules" is disingenuous. Nobody forced them to appeal; they made that decision. Is it too late to do the decent thing? - Yours, etc.,
Colm O Caomhanaigh, Booterstown, Co Dublin.