Problems for intermediate clubs in the FAI Cup?
From The Irish Times:
Leinster Senior League club Cherry Orchard continue to be frustrated by the FAI's refusal to legally allow them field a full side in their FAI Senior Cup second round tie with fellow non-league side St Mochta's on Saturday, July 26th.
The complication is such that the Ballyfermot club may pull out of the competition.
The famous nursery club are particularly affected by the FAI's insistence that players who played for other clubs in last season's FAI Intermediate Cup are cup-tied for this season's FAI Senior Cup as the Intermediate Cup is a pre-qualifying tournament for the non-National League teams.
Fellow intermediate side Belgrove are also heavily affected by the ruling while National League Premier Division side St Patrick's Athletic are unhappy that three of their pre-season signings - Keith Dunne, Keith Fahy and Anthony Murphy, who played in the Intermediate Cup last season - are also ineligible.
Cherry Orchard make the valid point that this is a new season and that the rule is particularly unfair on them because players from their second team, whom they could use, would then be ineligible to play in the FAI Junior Cup next season.
As Cherry Orchard have made eight new signings from other intermediate clubs during their close season, manager Paul O'Brien has only eight eligible players, according to the FAI Senior Cup ruling.
"We have been backed into a corner by this," said O'Brien. "We have three options open to us. One is to simply pull out of the competition which is something we don't want to do as it's the blue riband and a great opportunity for players to play in the FAI Senior Cup, an opportunity they may never have again.
"The second option is to play St Mochta's with just eight players. In that situation I would have to play an outfield player in goal as my new 'keeper is cup-tied.
"The third option is to draft seven of our Saturday side into the first team squad and play them and wait and see what action the FAI take on that.
"We are an amateur club and released all our players at the end of last season. To make players available for the FAI Cup 2003 we had to re-register players at the end of May, which we did.
"We were told that the only stipulation regarding new signings was that they had to be signed 14 days before the FAI Cup match.
"We replaced players and are now told that if we go by the FAI ruling in regard to the FAI Senior Cup we have only eight eligible players.
"The logical step for us is to pick seven players from our second team to make up a squad. But that has also been taken out of our hands as we've been told by the FAI that if we play our junior players they will lose their junior status and will not be eligible to play in the FAI Junior Cup and Leinster Junior Cup this coming season.
"That ruling only affects intermediate clubs and doesn't affect Portmarnock, for example, who are a junior club.
"As the only junior club in the FAI Senior Cup, Portmarnock have been given special dispensation on that particular ruling.
"All the FAI have said to us in relation to us possibly pulling out of the competition is that if that is what we have to do then go ahead and do it."
