England to play in Dublin for first time since riot of 1995

England will play Republic of Ireland next year in their first meeting in Dublin since crowd trouble forced a friendly to be abandoned 19 years ago.

The Lansdowne Road riot was one of English football’s darkest hours as right-wing extremists among the visiting fans threw objects onto the pitch after the Republic took the lead in the 27th minute.

Bridges were rebuilt last May when the Republic came to Wembley to play a friendly. The 1-1 draw passed off without any crowd trouble.

Today, the two governing bodies announced that the teams will meet on June 7, 2015, a week before England face Slovenia in a Euro 2016 qualifier. The match will be at the Aviva Stadium, the name of the redeveloped Lansdowne Road.

Club England managing director Adrian Bevington said: “It will be a significant moment for England to play in Dublin again and due to the hard work by both organisations we fully expect it to be a fantastic occasion.”