Status quo stays on 'sad night' for soccer
from the Irish independent
THE Eircom League's 22 clubs last night chose to expediently disregard the deliberations of the FAI's Licensing Committee by agreeing to forge ahead with the current league structure for this season.
They will need to appeal to FAI chief executive Fran Rooney in order to so this, following Tuesday's announcement that no Eircom League club had managed to achieve the requisite Premier Division Licence.
Rooney, who addressed the meeting, said that he would request the Licensing Committee to re-adjust the timeframe regarding the implementation of the licences, as well as applying to UEFA for a derogation. It is believed the European ruling body would be sympathetic.
However, there was anger in some quarters at the fact that the work of some clubs in attempting to adhere to the licensing deadline was effectively ignored.
"It's a sad night for Irish football," said Derry City's Jim Roddy, who maintained that his side will continue their appeal in order to achieve a Premier Division licence. "Last May, we were offered the chance to postpone this process by the FAI and the League clubs voted en bloc to refuse. I'm very disappointed. We are trying to be professional, for ourselves and the public.
"Then, when we are given a test which shows us all to be of a poor standard, we throw the test away and forget about it. I think the begrudgers who reckoned this issue would be fudged have unfortunately proven to be correct."
At last night's management meeting in the Ashling Hotel, there was a limited debate as to the merits of deploying two regionally balanced divisions of 11 teams; however, this was quickly shot down in favour of maintaining the status quo.
"I'm happy with the way things went," said Shelbourne's Ollie Byrne. "We set the bar too high and although UEFA Club Licensing is the best thing to happen soccer in this country, we misjudged the speed of it."
The FAI will now have to request the Licensing Committee to alter its terms of reference while also applying to UEFA. A rule change may be necessary, which would require 21 days' notice as an FAI EGM would have to be called. However, the League tentatively expects to be in a position to finally publish this season's fixtures on February 21, just four weeks before kick-off.
* ST Patrick's Athletic will play Leicester City in a friendly at Richmond Park tonight, 7.45. An auction is taking place for anyone interested in playing the final 10 minutes for St Pat's on www.stpatsfc.com
David Kelly
