Limerick Desmond League 2018/19

[Langerdan007]

What was the proposal?

[dutchie]

Why are lge coming out with a proposal , why don't they just grow a pair and make a definitive action , and abbey either agrees or is thrown out.

[Cruyff]

Referees proposed 2 things:
1: Two linesmen to assist referee at Abbeyfeale games.
2: Suspend the 14 names on the card from the youths match in which the incident occurred. ( I think just until the end of the season, but I'm open to correction)
Number 2 was as an alternative to publicly naming the alleged real perpetrators involved I believe.

League refused both proposals.

League counter proposed that a member of the league committee be present at all Abbeyfeale matches as an overseer of sorts.

Referees rejected this.

That's my understanding of what happened.

[Kennycon]

Referees proposed 2 things:
1: Two linesmen to assist referee at Abbeyfeale games.
2: Suspend the 14 names on the card from the youths match in which the incident occurred. ( I think just until the end of the season, but I'm open to correction)
Number 2 was as an alternative to publicly naming the alleged real perpetrators involved I believe.

League refused both proposals.

League counter proposed that a member of the league committee be present at all Abbeyfeale matches as an overseer of sorts.

Referees rejected this.

That's my understanding of what happened.

I don’t think by law you can name the individuals if they are u18

[Langerdan007]

League refused both proposals.

League counter proposed that a member of the league committee be present at all Abbeyfeale matches as an overseer of sorts.



Laughable

[Ballistinianlad]

I honestly think a new management committee is needed at this stage. May as well forget about this season now

[dutchie]

Maybe a proposal from clubs to throw out the current committee, it's obvious they are not impartial .

[fanaticfan]

Said it before the league committee are a joke and need to grow a pair. Fair play to the committee for ruining the league for everyone else. 👍

[twotouch]

Got from Facebook this morning

Colleagues.
As you are aware mediation talks were held last week but despite almost 5 hours of talks no resolution was forthcoming. This is frustrating as our branch does not want to hurt the innocent clubs and players in our league who are now drawn into this dispute. In order to resume the season we have offered to operate as a trio for all the remaining fixtures of the club (has worked in other leagues) or will return as normal if the names on the match card from the night of the assault are stood down for the remainder of the season or until the guilty party is brought forward. These have been rejected by the MC who want us to return with a club committee member and a league committee member at all games to ensure our members safety. In a final gesture of goodwill the assaulted referee has waived his right to take any legal action against the guilty party and is happy to have him dealt with by the football authorities only. We stand steadfast beside our colleague who suffered this assault and are aware that it could have happened to any one of us.
As the mediator is working on this case in the background we will not comment further other than bring you this update.

I.S.R.S Limerick West

[Desmond18]

This season is gone lads... no resolution this week ?? Teams will be depleted after this weekend with holidays & most importantly the innocent players just sick of waiting around from week to week ?? Are clubs still training ? I hope not ... As I said before the death of the Desmond League... city teams must be laughing thinking of players going in to them...Murphy , Smith in Abbey ... Ahern in rathkeale... Brosnan in Broadford & many more... Farewell

[Ballistinianlad]

Hearing that Breska are looking into going into town to play next season.
I’d imagine all fees should be returned to clubs if the seasons called up. Fines wiped clean etc

[fanaticfan]

And that is exactly why people should go into town playing football instead of playing in this league. Aj O Connor won the Lawson Cup with fairview this season. Shane Stack won the league and oscar traynor with janesboro this year.

[Kennycon]

such a pity to see Desmond league football in such a state , some excellent footballers are produced.

[Abbeyman]

And that is exactly why people should go into town playing football instead of playing in this league. Aj O Connor won the Lawson Cup with fairview this season. Shane Stack won the league and oscar traynor with janesboro this year.

There are only 3 really strong teams in the Desmond league at this stage and they are at the top of the premier league .
Other than those teams a talented committed soccer player is best going to town if he can get on a premier league team .
Makes sense for breska to go into town , they might pick up a few players who don’t want to be all over west Limerick on a Sunday morning . Ferry rangers be as well off in Kerry too .

[Kennycon]

Would it make sense abbeyfeale moving to the Kerry league

[DesmondLad]

Would it make sense abbeyfeale moving to the Kerry league


Exactly KennyCon, it would make perfect sense for Abbey to join the Kerry League too. It would definitely solve clubs current problem, the one Abbey created for us all in the first place.

[Soreloser]

[QUOTE=twotouch;2003474]Got from Facebook this morning

Colleagues.
As you are aware mediation talks were held last week but despite almost 5 hours of talks no resolution was forthcoming. This is frustrating as our branch does not want to hurt the innocent clubs and players in our league who are now drawn into this dispute. In order to resume the season we have offered to operate as a trio for all the remaining fixtures of the club (has worked in other leagues) or will return as normal if the names on the match card from the night of the assault are stood down for the remainder of the season or until the guilty party is brought forward. These have been rejected by the MC who want us to return with a club committee member and a league committee member at all games to ensure our members safety. In a final gesture of goodwill the assaulted referee has waived his right to take any legal action against the guilty party and is happy to have him dealt with by the football authorities only. We stand steadfast beside our colleague who suffered this assault and are aware that it could have happened to any one of us.
As the mediator is working on this case in the background we will not comment further other than bring you this update.

I.S.R.S Limerick West[/QUOTE
Fair play to the Refs for keeping their guys updated

[Johnnie C]

Would it make sense abbeyfeale moving to the Kerry league
Spot on, problem solved.

[runinglate]

So what time is this meeting tomorrow night? Is there any hope of white smoke prior to meeting. A long night instore for all in atendance no doubt..the good is gone out of the league for this year regardless.
An awful pity, even if we go back to playing now clubs will struggle with j1s , exams and the likes.
I wonder would clubs agree to promotion / relegation on current positions and just finish out the cup competitions. Cant see agreement but just a sugestion.

[Kennycon]

So what time is this meeting tomorrow night? Is there any hope of white smoke prior to meeting. A long night instore for all in atendance no doubt..the good is gone out of the league for this year regardless.
An awful pity, even if we go back to playing now clubs will struggle with j1s , exams and the likes.
I wonder would clubs agree to promotion / relegation on current positions and just finish out the cup competitions. Cant see agreement but just a sugestion.

No chance of that happening, either way the value and momentum is gone out of the season, some great facilities and efforts with no end product. Govern body should have intervened for disciplinary reasons.

[fanaticfan]

Lads the league is gone. Abbeyfeale and the league committee have ruined it for everyone. Not a hope its gonna be finished. Look at the amount of games left in the divisions and cups to play.

[desmond tutu]

This has been over and back far too long , we are forgetting in all of this that Abbey also might like to have the league finished. Im sure the man in the middle would not have wanted this to get this far either but they needed to make a statement and by god they did. what ever comes out of tomorrow night i hope that 1 man doesnt carry the story of been the man that stopped the lot. lastly i believe there is a well established mediator/referees assessor who can solve the problem but is being ignored from solving all of this?

[Cruyff]

Don't be surprised if it's suggested by the committee tomorroww night that we'll have a 12 team premier and a 12 team Division 1 next season.
It would be a way to get around the issue of promotion/relegation and keep a few more clubs from giving the league a hard time.
Obviously just a hypothetical, but don't be shocked if something along those lines ends up happening or at least the idea being floated to clubs.

[desmond tutu]

Anyone on the supporters of junior soccer page, how can you get on it? i believe an athea man is posting up updates on this and claiming he is a mediator with credentials. surely he would have been the ideal candidiate to sort out this mess. i heard he had several previous pages garda checkpoint Munster and banter pages but was targeted on them as been a crazy keyboard warrior. lets hope there is a league to come back to next year a 12 team premier will be the last topic discussed tomorrow night im sure. will there be refs/ abbey members and league all involved in his meeting.

[Kennycon]

Anyone on the supporters of junior soccer page, how can you get on it? i believe an athea man is posting up updates on this and claiming he is a mediator with credentials. surely he would have been the ideal candidiate to sort out this mess. i heard he had several previous pages garda checkpoint Munster and banter pages but was targeted on them as been a crazy keyboard warrior. lets hope there is a league to come back to next year a 12 team premier will be the last topic discussed tomorrow night im sure. will there be refs/ abbey members and league all involved in his meeting.

This situation needs a level more this. Just a mediator because there is no neutral fault in this , the club and players are 100% at fault , it needs the clubs and the Desmond league officials to sort it out, if they can’t the Munster branch or the fai.

[Ballistinianlad]

The Munster council came to a meeting. No joy. The fai have washed their hands of it too. They are in complete disarray themselves.
Iv seen this referee assessor and his posts. Personally I think he needs to stop. He is making the situation worse if anything. I doubt he speaks on behalf of the west limerick branch of the isrs

[desmond tutu]

hopefully the trio of referees is proposed tonight and start playing again the weekend. next year clubs should promote the referees course. they get a good wage if they were to ref 7 games a week, 2 Saturday and 2 Sunday and 3 during the week between underage men and ladies they've a good wage. our referees are getting too old to be put in these scenarios. A few men in there 70s taking cheek from youngsters for 50 euro is not right either. i spoke with a referee briefly last Saturday in carrig and he slated the man[shaking his head in disgust] who is behind some of these pages on social media and he stated he had done nothing but mislead peoples opinions from the start. i haven't seen any of his stuff as i dont know how to locate his nonsense but from what he told me he has been posting only to get a responce. the last thing this arguement needed was a man posting up stuff at all hours of the night. pull in the chests all sides leave the stubbornness at home and lets get back playin football.

[southern kid]

this whole situation has gone on too long.i think if the league can abolish rule for 3 officials it should be done to finish season but the only problem I see with this is for the long term future of league it would be a very negative move..the reason been if referees are not happy with next disciplinary matter the league deal with what is to stop them throwing the toys out again..i don't know is there another answer to this, I'm amazed the fai have not come in and taken charge, I do not think this would happen in irfu or even gaa circles... embarrassing by all parties at the minute..

[LimkRef]

Will it ever be sorted out

[Shearer]

Well, what's the scoop from tonight.

[Desmond18]

Another meeting ...surprise surprise... league over ... this debacle will have huge consequences for the Desmond league ....referees, committee & Abbey well done 👍👍

[Ballistinianlad]

this whole situation has gone on too long.i think if the league can abolish rule for 3 officials it should be done to finish season but the only problem I see with this is for the long term future of league it would be a very negative move..the reason been if referees are not happy with next disciplinary matter the league deal with what is to stop them throwing the toys out again..i don't know is there another answer to this, I'm amazed the fai have not come in and taken charge, I do not think this would happen in irfu or even gaa circles... embarrassing by all parties at the minute..

Throwing the toys out??? A member was punched and spat on and it was not handled at all correctly by the league. They took the word of the club over the referee. What should the refs do. Accept it?!!!
The refs are dead right. I can assure you if it was my club and we challenged the referees report we would have been taken out back like old yeller months ago!

[Griffo]

Abbeyfeale united quite happy to sit back and watch us all suffer with them over something their players did. The club that finished soccer in west limerick. Well done lads the GAA applaud you!

[Kennycon]

Very sad to see the league over , it doesn’t cover abbeyfeale full of glory and probably makes them a less attractive club going forward, however The league could have dealt with this matter sooner. The negative publicity this has on the league will effect a lot of young players.

[Red_Devil]

Couldn’t make the meeting last night but was there any decision/suggestions put forward?

[desmond tutu]

Very baffling how neither ref or league could put best interest of players to the fore.... the league is noting without the players who risk getting injured,miss out on Sunday occasions to tog out on the side of the road in some places to play the game on a weekly basis. In abbeys defence if we take all there dealings with it, player suspended and the fine imposed on them was all they could deal with.. the incident could have happened at any grounds. granted it shouldnt happen but it did. refs get there wage players carry the knocks.its the players that suffered most in this. lastly thanks to all the key figures who not for one moment thought of the players who have played or followed the desmond league for years ye have been of great service. i believe my comments on this are making the page of a man posting on other sites at all hours my answer to him is to lay off the bottle and get a few hours sleep..

[Shearer]

Just because this season is being given the bullet does not mean that this problem is over, at all. Whatever about the strike of reffing all games, the refs have every right to refuse to referee Abbeyfeale games next year while the perpetrators (as in more than one person) are still at large with no punishment received.
This will set the Desmond League back years and it's incredibly disappointing to see. Whatever issues there already are such as fixturing (which would've still seen us a mile behind where we should've been regardless of whether or not this whole debacle occurred) will have to take a backseat until this is sorted.
I feel really sorry for every single club, particularly Broadford United who had already made the Desmond Cup Final and would have had every chance of winning it, Glin and NCW Town who were denied a potential final place of that competition as well as all the league leaders and promotion hopefuls in the other divisions.
In summary, a sad day for the league.

[Langerdan007]

Has this season officially been given the bullet?????
Or is the decision just on the long finger until this new meeting next week?

You got a LOL out of me for the "still at large" Shearer - is there a major manhunt ongoing :D

[Desmond18]

Another meeting next week i hear...for what I don't know .. Committee wanted to end league full stop last night but every delegate refused it point blank. The Desmond League will not have a season next year lads never mind this year. Broadford must be sick along with the likes of teams in the 1st & 2nd Division who were getting promoted...cruel after 8 months training for players.

[Shearer]

Has this season officially been given the bullet?????
Or is the decision just on the long finger until this new meeting next week?

You got a LOL out of me for the "still at large" Shearer - is there a major manhunt ongoing :D
From what I've heard it's done or as good as. In the event of an absolute miracle occurring, you'd have to have teams playing three times a week to make up for lost time.

I said that to myself while writing about the 'at large' bit, said I'd stick with it for dramatic purposes :D

[Langerdan007]

I was on the edge of my seat!!! :D

Christ its a sad time for the Desmond League - even axing the season doesn't resolve ANY of the issues - where do they go for next season!
Was there anyone calling for the committee to stand down at the meeting?

[fanaticfan]

Let's all join the district league except abbey. They can join the Kerry League 🤣🤣

[Ballistinianlad]

Another meeting next week with the refs this time. There was less meetings to get the good Friday agreement lads lol.

[dutchie]

The committee should be ashamed of themselves if the season is finished, the should lead from the front and do everything in there power to get the season finished, each and every one of the members should have a look at there position on that committee, totally shocking.

[Griffo]

Everyone’s a volunteer and they all suffering over the committees eagerness to show allegiance to abbey. If they put as much eagerness into the league as a whole, those 5 youths would of been removed for remainder of season as the refs requested and the league would be in tact. But that wouldn’t be enough for Abbey committee members

[Gazza29]

Everyone’s a volunteer and they all suffering over the committees eagerness to show allegiance to abbey. If they put as much eagerness into the league as a whole, those 5 youths would of been removed for remainder of season as the refs requested and the league would be in tact. But that wouldn’t be enough for Abbey committee members

Everyone is a volunteer, apart from the refs (and they are more than entitled to have their expenses covered), but everyone else is a volunteer for their clubs and have something to gain when they have success, the volunteers who run the league never have anything to gain apart from heartache so some of the comments on here are disgraceful. I hope I'm not alone in being very appreciative for what they have done for local soccer over numerous years. And the option is always there for you to go to the AGM and replace them if you feel you can contribute more.
Who are you or anyone else to decide if five innocent youths are to be punished. Why should those lads be singled out. Of course there is innocent people suffering at the moment, including referees because of this situation, but the fact of the matter is this, the league got a report and they acted on it, an individual gave a signed statement admitting to both offences outlined in the report, there was no appeal from the referees. Once the dispute started, the interim CEO of the FAI, a qualified solicitor believed the actions of the league were correct, representatives from the Munster referees society believed the league were correct, and at a meeting of the clubs three weeks ago, the vast majority of the clubs believed the league were correct. We haven't heard anything from the Irish referees society apart from a brief statement on facebook, which had a comment underneath of a ? from the local referees assessor, indicating that he didn't believe that the national body had backed the local referees. Its pretty plain to see that Abbey/Refs/League or anyone else cant give up another name without leaving themselves up for legal proceedings. I also believe that giving linemen till the end of the season isn't an option, its just kicking the problem down the road. Hopefully at next weeks meeting, everyone will have cool heads and be willing to work on a solution. In my humble opinion though, the solution is putting something in place to ensure that this doesn't happen again at any club going forward, and in the unfortunate event that if it does, that the punishment will be severe and not just two years. Unfortunately this year, everyone is going to end up a looser, hopefully however, I would like to think that people could be smart enough to realise that current demands cannot be met, some pride could be swallowed which would be commended by all, and that something will be put in place to allow the season to finish and put this sorry mess behind us. This could very simply be, the refs outlining their position and their concerns to the clubs next week, asking the clubs what can they do to ensure this wont happen again at each of their grounds, cutting back on verbal abuse especially from the side lines, and the refs on hearing these solutions agreeing to come back and ref again with Abbey once again apologising to the referee in question and withdrawing their team from playing in the youths desmond cup semi final. Of course its not an easy thing for the refs to do, but knowing some of them personally I would like to think that they could be the bigger men and Im sure they wont let us down and will be. Finally, just in case people think Im undermining assault, far from it, it should be strongly condemned, but unfortunately this is one of the extremely rare cases where we are not going to get witnesses to come forward. If we all cant accept that point then we might as well disband the league immediately

[Gazza29]

Volunteers? Gazza these so called "volunteers" get paid a nominal sum at end of each season; unlike our club volunteers who in the majority of cases do the job for the love of the game. The league are lucky their wage isn't performance related or they wouldn't see a bean for this season!!

The committee are paid?, to be honest I’m not even going to waste my time any further dealing with that stupid comment. It’s people like you ignorant of the facts that have made this mess worse

[LimkRef]

What will happen next year with the Desmond league will it go ahead

[Griffo]

Who are Abbey to decide that the rest of us throw away our season? A club and youths manager have a responsibility to control their team, they didn’t and a member or members of that team assaulted a ref. Whatever unfair results come of this let them be put to those closest to the problem, not the entire league who didn’t have a single member involved. At the end of the day the refs do not feel safe reffing Abbeyfeale games alone over what happened, no matter what they request the committee should be backing them. Instead they chose to back their mate at the cost of all of us and Abbey chose to put their pride before doing the responsible thing, admit we could of conducted ourselves better and for the good of the DL we will retract those players for the few games left.

[Griffo]

After accusing everyone who disagreed with you of being a ref and then counting Facebook likes to bolster your argument, I’d be slow to call people clowns. That “usual rubbish” you are talking about is the rest of the DL, it does exist outside Abbeyfeale.