ASTON Villa drew 3-3 against Everton at Villa Park this afternoon, and Manchester City went down 1-3 against Fulham at the City of Manchester Stadium.
We only mention these scores because Christian leaders are furious – not with the results of the two Premier League matches, but because they were played on the Day of the Risen Christ (which I call Yeaster Sunday).
The whingeing began well before the matches were played. On April 7, the Telegraph reported that the Archbishop of Birmingham Vincent Nichols, who is due to succeed Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor as Archbishop of Westminster, was among senior figures accusing the Premiership of caving in to pressure from broadcasters by holding matches on Easter Sunday.
The Catholic Archbishop of Birmingham, Vincent Nichols
He signed an open letter to Richard Scudamore, chief executive of the Premiership, and the sports broadcaster Setanta protesting over the Aston Villa v Everton match.
The letter, also signed by the Anglican Bishop of Birmingham, David Urquhart and Rt Rev Andrew Watson, the Bishop of Aston, said:
In rearranging this fixture in this manner you show disdain for the religious traditions of this country, and the sensitivities of many employees and football supporters. Commercial considerations are not all that matters.
Rt Rev Watson said the row in Birmingham had national implications.
Easter is, many would argue, the pre-eminent Christian festival and I think that there is a real issue.
Today, the BBC reports that the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, had stepped into the fray, saying there was a “time and a place” for football which was not on Easter Sunday.
He added:
I do not think … 22 people chasing a ball around is all life is about …. The amazing thing about England is that we are not trying to force religion down people’s throats, but there is a culture, a tradition, a way of behaving … Excluding Christmas there are 363 other days of the year when we can play football.
Reverend Andy Jolley, of Aston and Nechells, in Birmingham, told the BBC:
Don’t get me wrong, I am a football supporter… but I would like to see this day particularly kept free from football.
Jolley has now launched a petition calling on the on the Premier League to:
Recognise the significance of Easter Sunday alongside Christmas Day within the national life of England and not to schedule Premier League fixtures on either of these days.
The petition preamble includes the complaint that:
Christians coming out to celebrate the festival which is at the heart of their faith at churches near to the grounds have to battle past thousands of football fans. Some have been unable to get to church because roads have been closed due to the volume of fans. Often the elderly or infirm, who make a special effort to attend church on Easter Sunday, are placed at risk due to the crowds.
So far fewer than 600 people have signed the petition.
The Freethinker was founded in 1881 by GW Foote, an outspoken critic of religion. After the publication of 
April 12th, 2009 at 10:05 pm
Hey Freethinkers, can I invite you to my new blog
http://godlovesatheists.wordpress.com/
Thanks x
April 12th, 2009 at 11:32 pm
Sorry, have I just not woken up yet… did this John Sentamu really say “The amazing thing about England is that we are not trying to force religion down people’s throats”!?
(… checks source link…)
Well, THERE’S a gobsmacker for the early morning.
Freethinker’s one of the sites in my morning-tabs-with-coffee list. I don’t live in the U.K., but I still feel a little smack in the gob every time I read something quite this insane. Thank you, Messrs Duke and McKeegan.
April 13th, 2009 at 12:35 am
I think football probably has a bigger following in this country than the christian faith, so why should they expect it to accomodate them?
April 13th, 2009 at 2:20 am
Just further evidence that when they bleat on about religious “freedom” and religious “rights”, what they really mean is religious “power”; the ability to force their beliefs onto everyone else.
Someone needs to make it extremely clear that freedom of expression does not include being able to force others to conform to your behaviour. Quite the opposite, in fact.
April 13th, 2009 at 9:40 am
They should just ban football in general. Nothing to do with religion, just because it’s tedious shite.
April 13th, 2009 at 9:55 am
Next, I expect the religious nutters will be demanding that all shops and pubs close on Sunday or any other day they have decided is special. What happens when other religions decide that you can’t have fun on days hijacked by them? No one will be able to do anything and we’ll return to the dark ages – we’ll never get any work done, that’s for sure!
Not forcing religion down peoples throats eh? Well I recently drove past Brent knoll in Somerset and what do I see on the hill: three wooden crosses. In Somerton [near me] there are wooden crosses on all roads approaching the town and signs stating some geezer died for me. There are numerous other examples. Religion is just another brand of fascism and their jackbooted followers stamp over everything. We need to string a few of them up on their crosses.
April 13th, 2009 at 10:02 am
Serai, they even admit as much when they complain about the old dears struggling to get to church through thronging masses of football supporters.
April 13th, 2009 at 10:06 am
“you show disdain … the sensitivities of many employees and football supporters.”
Yes. I can just read the minds of all those football supporters, crammed into the ground in their thousands:
“Damn, I really want to be in church right now, but these bastards are forcing me to watch a fucking football match.”
Nice blog, BTW, Sarah! Bit of righteous indignation there…;0)
April 13th, 2009 at 10:08 am
‘..the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, had stepped into the fray, saying there was a “time and a place” for football…’
Likewise there is a time and a place for religion.
Medieval Europe!
April 13th, 2009 at 10:40 am
How satisfying to hear them bleating as they slide slowly but inexorably toward oblivion.
April 13th, 2009 at 10:54 am
I love all these comments.
One of the wonders of the internet has been to demonstrate how many reasonably sane people there are in the world.
April 13th, 2009 at 11:35 am
Who knows what to say about these people… whilst Church-going needs to be discouraged, I also have to agree the the presence of hundreds of football thugs is intimidating to anyone, Christian nutter or not!
Mind you, if you gave in to that, then you’d have the Muslims wanting a Friday ban and the Jews a Saturday ban and then where would we be?
Sounds like a good idea actually.
April 13th, 2009 at 11:38 am
#So far fewer than 600 people have signed the petition.#
Isn’t 600 the membership of birdshit Greens gang?
It’s great to see the Bishops on the back foot, slipping into oblivion.
April 13th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
As a devout atheist I object to all superstitious events and propaganda on Sundays. Similarly, the witless Thought for the Day (Vicar of Putney today I think) with its “Jim this and Jim that” from the Vicar really gets on my wick. Who funds this? Who decided that we can’t have an atheist to add some sense to this nonsense. Jim is Jim Naughtie and he just goes along with all these statements about Jesus and the Resurrection as if they were facts and comprehensible. This guy today lost me completely as usual. We need a campaign to stop this. Maybe a “Mission Statement” such as “Delendo est TFD” which I think means TFD must be destroyed. (Apologies to Delendo est Carthago man from 2,000 years ago and if anyone cares to put my Latin right then thank you.)
April 13th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
We’ve had the opposite problem over here. In effect, the social infrastructure of one seaside town has collapsed so badly the ugliest breed of evangelical now run both local government and what’s left of the business community. The result is that on a major holiday the seafront was closed to all but flat-earthers (see http://www.manxradio.com/newsread.aspx?id=34737 and don’t take the numbers too seriously, evangelicals have problems counting past 10).
Interestingly, there’s a link to Sentamu too. The bishop leading this freakfest was chosen personally by Sentamu (used to be his chaplain and is known locally as ‘Sentamu’s Apprentice’)and now sits unelected and unwanted in our upper chamber of government along with other political dead wood.
April 13th, 2009 at 12:35 pm
I can’t stand football (I’m not a fan of any sports really) but screw the self-centered whackjobs who persistently think the entire freaking world should shut down every time they’re having a religious holiday/event. I rather want to go down and play football just to cheese the idiots off now.
April 13th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
Ah, so “THIS day in particular”??? And “this” day ’cause it is “this day”: and “christmas” (mean, Solis Invictus holyday…) ’cause it is “christmas”: and “halloween” cause it is halloween… So they have so many day as “this day in particular”!
Beat ‘em: soccer’s better than a “holiday” given for a repainted pagan synergic “god”…
April 13th, 2009 at 3:12 pm
Broga, a little light relief from the infuriating Thought for the day can be found at http://www.platitudes.org.uk where the Reverend Dr. Peter Hearty takes the piss out of it on a daily basis.
April 13th, 2009 at 5:14 pm
I’m quite amused that people like this complete idiot who calls himself a bishop thinks it’s his business when other people are allowed to play football or have fun in any other way.
But something that really gets up my nose is the fact that here in Germany where I live it is forbidden to organize public partys/festivals/etc (in german law we call them “tanz-veranstaltungen”, which means dance-events). The reason – or what passes as one – is that it could offend the religious feelings of christians. The same is true for other christian holidays. Whats the point of having a free day if you are – by law – not allowed to have fun? But hey, christian hypocrites wouldn’t even think of forcing their beliefs down other peoples thoats… We really need more secularism in Europe in our lawbooks, and the americans need more in reality.
Oh yea, and we have to stop pretending that religious people are not mentally ill.
April 13th, 2009 at 8:10 pm
Has anybody else noticed Vincent Nichols’s uncanny resemblance to Tim Brooke Taylor?
April 13th, 2009 at 8:26 pm
YES!! But I couldn’t remember his bloody name. Thank you for putting me out of my misery.
April 13th, 2009 at 8:41 pm
Right you lot! Lay off the football!
Sarah, not everyone who goes to watch football is a thug.
April 13th, 2009 at 9:28 pm
What was that old joke about ‘Jesus saves but Moses scores on the rebound’…
April 13th, 2009 at 10:47 pm
For fifty years the Canadian province of Alberta, also known as the redneck arsehole of the universe, prohibited Sunday football and Sunday shopping, so that Albertans would have little option but to listen to the theofascist premier’s “Back to the Bible” radio broadcast. Most of Canada’s blue laws have since been repealed. But it is still a criminal offence to accuse Jews of conspiring to take over the world, but not an offence to accuse gays of the same thing.
Even a majority of Albertans, having been given a taste of freedom, have no wish to return to theocracy. The fact that the godphuqt in the UK are screaming to repeal the 20th century is proof that they know as well as we do that their days are numbered. By the end of this century there will be one god addict for every two sane persons, the reverse of the present situation.
April 14th, 2009 at 9:56 am
Nathanael –
I still can’t get used to the fact that ALL shops are closed on Sundays, EVERY Sunday. It really hit home last year when Allerheiligen (That’s all saints’ day, folks, Nov. 1st) fell on a Saturday, meaning that Germany’s entire economy closed down for the weekend. Apparently, the concept of a bank holiday seems to be beyond people here.
Germany really is a deeply culturally entrenched country—we had complaints from the neighbours while we were renovating our house because we had the temerity to do work on a Sunday—so I don’t see it changing anytime soon. And if a newspaper like Die Zeit can publish a front-page article about a medieval forgery of a St. Veronica sweat cloth with the huge headline ‘is this him?’ and still expect to be taken seriously, well…
And have you seen the cover of this week’s Spiegel?
April 14th, 2009 at 10:08 am
Tim -
I’m afraid to have neither seen the cover of “Die Zeit” nor “Spiegel”. What does the spiegel say? I’m afraid it must be something incredibly stupid and/or insane, as it’s usual for this magazine (they once claimed to posess Hitlers diary…).
As for shops closed on Sundays: Yes, they are closed every Sunday. But I don’t think religion is the only reason for this. I can very well see a secular argument for that: I wouldn’t want to have to work on a Sunday or any other holiday. But I don’t see the need of prohibiting it by law.
April 14th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
Nathanael –
“Judas — Verräter im Namen Gottes?” (A traitor in the name of god?) “The Gospel of Judas casts Jesus’ disciple in a new light”
Apparently they’re not the sharpest pencils in the box—this was covered by most other media about five years ago.
As for Sunday opening…the basic reason is most certainly religious—it’s the lord’s day of rest, when you should be grovelling on your knees.
Pundits were predicting the collapse of society when Sunday trading was legalised in the UK about 15 (?) years ago. We seemed to have managed alright…;o)
p.s. translations are for everyone else-not trying to suggest you can’t speak German!
p.p.s. I think that bishop looks like the bastard lovechild of Louis Walsh and David Sullivan (prop. Sunday Sport). Now there’s an awful thought….
April 14th, 2009 at 2:17 pm
Sure it should be banned; for him. Just like I have banned getting up early on Sundays.
In a free country you can if you want to. If they wish to ban something sensible on Sundays, it is their church bells that disturb me when I least need it.
(No, I’m not a football fan. If it vanished forever I’d be pleased. But that will be best achieved through education.)
Quote: “I do not think … 22 people chasing a ball around is all life is about …. ”
The first four words said it all!
Postings here are encouraging with most thinking the holy wallahs should at least mind their own; always seems to be the way. We need a referendum on the privileges afforded religion. It seems few people support them. Nor the Lords Spiritual in the House of Lords?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Spiritual
April 14th, 2009 at 7:55 pm
I don’t like football either but shame on you football haters who are saying that it should be banned, even, I suspect, somewhat tongue in cheek. If other people enjoy it and they are not harming you just let them get on with it and think about what your opinion would be of anyone who wanted to have something that you like doing banned just because they didn’t like it.
Cross-dissaproval mode off.
April 14th, 2009 at 8:14 pm
Stonyground. “Platitudes of the Day” is now in my “Favourites.” And I thank you. This is more than “light relief” for me as I think it might keep me sane. I sometimes think I have imagined some of the banal, vacuous, patronising crap. Then I see that not only did I really hear “The Vicar of Putney” but “Bob Marshall” from the day before. I had forgotten his name but yes, despite the fantastic banality of this smug git he did actually exist.
The Liverpool joke is a piece of gravity scribbled on a church:
“Jesus saves.”
And underneath some wit had scribbled:
“But St John scores on the rebound.”
St John being Ian, of course, and not the saint of the same name.
Regards,
Broga
April 15th, 2009 at 2:49 am
were these two soccer matches the ONLY events on sunday other than religious ceremonies and parades which all were required to attend? Sounds a bit like a czech friend of mine who spent his youth practising for spontaneous demonstrations outside the US embassy in Prag. But tell me – are xtians unable to count? I’ve read their bible (which it seems many of them have not) and if yeshue ben yussef was crucified on a friday and rose on the THIRD day, well that’s monday innit? so what’s wrong with football on sunday? Oh I get it – zero hadn’t been invented yet…….