Shels' European tie with Linfield may be brought forward due to Sam Fender gig
Shels are due to play Linfield in the second-leg of their Conference League play-off at Windsor Park on Thursday August 28th, the same day that musician Fender plays to 40,000 at Boucher Road Playing Fields.
Reports in the Belfast Telegraph suggest that Linfield, UEFA and the PSNI are looking at the situation and are heavily considering moving the game to an earlier date in order to avoid clashing with Fender's headline performance at the Belfast Vital festival. (Image: WireImage)
That same report from The Belfast Telegraph states that Linfield have been told that there would be stewarding concerns should the game get played on the same day as Fender's gig, which will take place at the same time a little over a mile away.
A PSNI spokesperson confirmed that they were looking at the situation and that an update would be issued when a decision was made.
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'Especially before the game when we met at the shopping centre and had some beers before going with the Shelbourne fans to the away end. Everybody was so nice. It was unreal. 'So many fans came to us and just said, 'Oh, you're the German lads', and how nice it was that we were there, and that they were so happy we were supporting their team in this match. 'So, yeah, everybody was really friendly and when the game started and especially after that second goal, it was crazy. It was unbelievable. It was a beautiful experience. 'We even got tattoos a few days later. Three of our six friends got tattoos of the Shelbourne logo, the three castles.' I wasn't exaggerating when I said they became fans for life. The TopMan tees and new tats were essentially free of charge, Janik says: 'We looked the game up on a betting site before the game and said 'Ok, let's just get everybody to bet like €10, it wasn't that much. So six of us together bet like €60 for Shelburne to win and we ended up winning a little bit over €800. It was like 15/1 for a win for Shelbourne. So it was even more incredible to win against Rijeka after that. The feeling was crazy. The money was gone straight away! We had an unbelievable day after that, getting our tattoos with the money and everything. It was crazy.' Janik's group all hail from Munich, with one following Bayern Munich and the rest supporting the more romantic option of struggling third division club, 1860 Munich. Without a doubt, there are parallels to be drawn between 1860's current situation and Shelbourne's not so distant dark days. '1860 Munich is quite famous because of its past. They played in the top division previously, but in past years we are in the third division and not doing so well in football. But for the fans, just like with Shelbourne, the fans from 1860 Munich are so crazy into it as well, and they are just supporting everyone in the team and it's a crazy atmosphere. I saw that as well in the Shelbourne away end against Rijeka. It was crazy, even if Shels were the outsiders or the underdogs, their fans were all supporting like crazy, wow it was so amazing.' As a third tier club longing for a return to the top flight, it is utterly unsurprising that fans and owners have not always seen eye to eye, as is the case in Shelbourne's recent history, namely the Save Tolka Park campaign, as well as former owner Acun Ilıcalı's desires to remove Damien Duff as club manager in 2023. 'We have a few issues in our relationship between the fans and the club owners,' Janik says. 'It's kind of tough because the recent investors didn't work out so well. But to be honest, the atmosphere and the feeling now that the league has started is a bit better. They have played two games and we haven't lost yet, so we hope it's going to end up good and we're going to get to the second German division again because it's our dream. 'Despite the years in the third division and the quality of football, we are still supporting with all of our hearts and so we hope that they're going to achieve that step again back towards eventually winning the first division in Germany, like Bayern Munich our big rival who do it all the time and playing internationally in Europe. We want that as well for our club.' Maybe one day in the future it will be 1860 Munich having some famous nights in Europe, and I'm sure there'll be some Dubliners among the 1860 supporters to return the favour.
