THE BELPOT TROPHY.

There's professional hockey in the United Kingdom, and the Belfast Giants and their home arena have been sponsoring something called the Friendship Four Tournament.  It appears to take place over the long Thanksgiving weekend, when teams travelling for tournaments is common, and that leaves Groundhoug Day for the Beanpot Tournament in Boston.

This year's contestants would not be out of place in a Beanpot field, either:  Harvard, Boston University, Merrimack, and Notre Dame.  But somebody in Notre Dame's diversity office had to issue a caution to subway alumni headed overseas, lest they inadvertently start an international incident.

Notre Dame's men's ice hockey team is getting a bit of heat for a tweet that the team has since deleted and apologized for in which they told fans traveling to games abroad in Belfast, Northern Ireland to refrain from wearing Irish symbolism including the color green and even the word "Irish."

The Fighting Irish are heading to Northern Ireland to play in a tournament called the "Friendship Four," which includes three other teams; Merrimack College, Harvard University, and Boston University.

So, ahead of the big trip the Irish gave their fans a list of things to do and not to do across the pond.

According to the Daily Mail, the since-deleted tweet tread, "We can't wait to see your Notre Dame in Belfast gear inside SSE Arena. Just a reminder to avoid our Irish symbolism, that may be deemed offensive to some, while out around town."

The College Fix team first had some fun with the announcement, but dialed it back once somebody looked at a map and noted Belfast is in the United Kingdom, not in the Irish Republic.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we posted guidelines on social media for fans wishing to express support for the team during its upcoming trip to Northern Ireland. The guidelines were not properly reviewed and should not have been posted,” reads the statement, posted Nov. 19.

“Our game in Belfast is meant to bring people together and build bridges through sport, we apologize to fans and to the people of Northern Ireland for any confusion or offense.”

Some observers have suggested the advice might have been due to longstanding tension that has sometimes turned violent between Ireland and Northern Ireland, including that wearing certain colors and other branding can be deemed a political statement in Northern Ireland.

But the university has not explicitly stated its motivation for doling out the clothing guide.

The apology came after controversy and criticism over the advice in the now-deleted X post.

On the other hand, U.S. athletic teams, collegiate and professional, play enough games overseas now that locals often buy gear just for the heck of it.  That included a Notre Dame football game in Dublin.  "Notre Dame teams have often travelled to play games on the island. Its American football team took on Navy in front of more than 50,000 people in Dublin last year."  Dublin is in the Irish Republic.

It's almost enough to drive a man to drink.

After watching Notre Dame run through Army like the Germans at Kasserine Pass, maybe a little Huskie Luck was needed.

As the Outkick post noted, "If it's such a problem, maybe don't pick a team called the Irish who are wearing special jerseys for the tournament which say 'IRISH' right across the front."  The hockey sweaters are in the blue that Curly Lambeau adopted for the Packers, not the special green Notre Dame teams sometimes use.  I wonder if the special green football jerseys, the shamrock, and the leprechaun went to Dublin.