FA calls on England supporters to show respect, not chant anti-IRA songs ahead of trip to Ireland

The Football Association is urging supporters to separate politics from football when England travel to Ireland for a politically-charged friendly at Aviva Stadium on June 7.

After "Fuck the IRA" chants marred England's friendly against Scotland in November, English football's governing body issued a statement Wednesday in which they asked supporters to "Follow England Away in the right way" for a match that marks the reciprocal fixture of The FA's 150th anniversary celebrations in 2013.

Since the start of the current European Championship qualifying campaign, The FA has suspended 18 England Supporters Travel Club memberships and warned a further 46 members about inappropriate behaviour and ticket violations.

FIFA has also made official contact with The FA to express concerns about anti-IRA chanting during the recent fixture against Italy in Turin and with the Ireland fixture in mind.

The FA has consistently urged supporters to show respect and not chant songs that could be regarded as insulting to others, particularly from a religious or political perspective.

In light of recent behaviour, this message needs to be proactively reinforced.

The friendly will kick off at 1 p.m. local time to minimise the risk of any violations or touting. A passport surrender system has also been put in place that requires supporters with football banning orders to report to English police stations between 10 a.m. and kick-off time.

When Ireland hosted England in a Euro 1996 qualifier at Lansdowne Road in 1995, the match - which marked the last time the two national teams met in Ireland - was abandoned amid crowd violence that was found to be orchestrated by a far-right group known as Combat 18.

Rioters ripped up seats, missiles were thrown, and some England supporters fought pitch battles during the first half of the game.