Ireland to host England for first time since 1995 riot

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland will take on England in a friendly in June 2015, the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) said on Tuesday, the first meeting between the teams in Dublin since a 1995 friendly was abandoned due to crowd trouble. The sides, who drew 1-1 in a friendly at Wembley last year, were shepherded off the pitch in the old Lansdowne Road 20 years ago with Ireland 1-0 in front after some English fans began throwing missiles, including seating ripped from the stands. Martin O'Neil's Irish side will be midway through a European Championship qualifying campaign that includes games against Germany, Poland and Scotland when the sides meet on June 7. England, who unlike Ireland will travel to Brazil for the World Cup in June, face an easier campaign to reach Euro 2016 with Switzerland and Slovenia putting up the main competition. "While inevitably the focus for Roy (Hodgson) and his team is on Brazil and the World Cup, we are always planning further ahead and we are delighted to announce this fixture," Club England managing director Adrian Bevington said on Tuesday. "It will be a significant moment for England to play in Dublin again, and due to the hard work by both organisations on many fronts we fully expect it to be a fantastic occasion enjoyed by both sets of fans." (Reporting by Padraic Halpin; editing by Martyn Herman)