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Euro 2016: Republic of Ireland fans pick up litter while singing 'clean up for the boys in green'

Republic of Ireland fans were filmed cleaning up after themselves to bring some good to what has been a tainted European Championship

Jack de Menezes
Thursday 16 June 2016 09:13 BST
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Irish fans clear up rubbish

While certain England fans continue to bring shame on the country through the violent clashes with French police in Lille, Irish fans continue to show why the world loves them.

Euro 2016 has been overshadowed by violent clashes between English and Russian fans along with French police, with the first week of the tournament seeing a number of arrests being made, banning orders being issued and fans taken to hospital for treatment.

One match that passed by without incident though was the 1-1 draw between the Republic of Ireland and Sweden, with fans enjoying the pre-match atmosphere in Paris while trading friendly barbs over a few beers.

It came after Northern Irish supporters were caught on video teaching their Polish opposition the “Will Grigg’s On Fire” chant as the two sets of fans mixed without incident in Nice at the weekend.

Now, the Republic of Ireland supporters have gone one better. As 36 fans were arrested in Lille where English supporters clashed with police, the Irish were captured picking up their own litter while chanting “clean up for the boys in green”.

One positive in Lille is that there have not been any clashes between English and Welsh fans, with the threat of an attack by the same Russian gang that carried out a mass assault in Marseille leading to the two sets of supporters uniting to drink together and follow a safety in numbers strategy.

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