More irregularities discovered

**mouldymurphy** · 19/03/2002, 6:09 PM

from soccercentral
Eircom League officials have discovered an irregularity in the registration of an unnamed St Patrick's Athletic player following a request to view documentation by Shelbourne CE Ollie Byrne.

League commissioner Roy Dooney has issued the following statement.

"This morning (Tuesday 19th March), the Chief Executive of Shelbourne Football Club, Mr Oliver Byrne, made a request under Rule 15 of the League Rule Book to inspect a number of registration forms for players of St Patrick�s Athletic.

"In the course of this examination an irregularity was discovered in the registration form of one player registered with St Patrick�s Athletic. I have drawn this matter to the attention of the President, Mr Tim O�Flaherty and Managing Director, Mr Pat Dolan of St Patrick�s Athletic, who I met later in the morning and asked them to investigate it as a matter of urgency and provide me with certain information.

"As soon as a response is received from St Patrick�s Athletic a further statement will be issued."

Meanwhile Dooney has told Pat Dolan that he will "revise" the current fixture list in a bid to sort out St Pat's five games in 13 days dilemma but he refused to consider an extension to the season.

**Schumi** · 19/03/2002, 6:13 PM

From what I've heard, it's Mbabazi Livingston.

How the f�ck could the FAI and Pats let this happen again? Surely the first thing both should have done after the Marney Affair broke was to check the registrations of all the rest of the Pats players!

**RamblersWeb** · 19/03/2002, 6:21 PM

If this is as serious as it seems to potentially be, and the rules are followed to the letter (laughs - it IS a Dublin club)...
Pats will be relegated.... [echoes of Marseille???]

Possibly saving Longford or Dundalk from the indignity of the play-offs in the process.

God help us in Div 1 all next season versus Pats tho.... wou;dn't be fun though if they didn't get back up....

methinks they mightn't be long reconsidering the 10 team Premier!!

Glen

www.isfa.com/server/web/cobh/index.html

**mouldymurphy** · 19/03/2002, 6:27 PM

for once ye might get to see why we call it the stadium of ****e

**Schumi** · 19/03/2002, 6:29 PM

I assume he must have played in nearly all of their games this season so that could be 70-odd points they'd lose. That'd leave them on -20 or so.

The thing is though, if this is the same as the Marney affair, will there be the same result, i.e. nothing?

It would be funny to see Pats in the 1st Division though!

**RamblersWeb** · 19/03/2002, 6:34 PM

i know we are still taking hypothetically here...

BUT

if the same thing happened as did with Marney... the league would lose all last few remaining strands of credibility.

So much so I could see clubs resigning from the leage.... Shels for starters. And I'd encourage Ramblers and other clubs to at least threaten to do the same.

Hopefully it won't come to that

like i said... we are hypothesising until we know the facts

**Schumi** · 19/03/2002, 6:37 PM

Originally posted by RamblersWeb
we are hypothesising until we know the facts

Yeah, but it's more fun this way!

**pete** · 20/03/2002, 9:08 AM

The only problem is that by Pats being let off on the Marney matter theres a precedent for no punishment so Pats won't docked any points.

Its time for supporters across the country to protest at what the clubs & officials are doing to our league...

**mouldymurphy** · 21/03/2002, 10:26 AM

from soccercentral
eircom League Commissioner Roy Dooney has issued a temporary holding statement in regard to the St Parick's Athletic registration debacle and confirms that the Inchicore club are now utilising the services of their solicitors to communicate with the League.

"In response to my urgent requests of yesterday and the previous day to St Patrick's Athletic for information relating to the registration of one of their players, I have been informed early this morning that the club has passed the letters to their solicitors, Maurice G Lyons & Co for attention."

"I have spoken this morning to their solicitor who has assured me that he will provide me with the information requested later today."

"A further statement will issue on this subject in due course."

**mouldymurphy** · 21/03/2002, 10:30 AM

look here
It is now believed that anything up to six players at Richmond Park were not registered at the start of the season and that irregularities were more than rife.

**Schumi** · 21/03/2002, 11:06 AM

Are Pats really that incompetant or is there something dodgy going on? How can some of their players be registered and some not? You could understand (maybe) missing 1 but 6 is rediculous.

On another point, that article suggests that St. Francis people may have tipped Ollie Byrne off to the registrations!!

**pete** · 21/03/2002, 11:56 AM

Can the league survive from the latest events? Will all this be resolved before the start of next season? Does anyone outside the eL care?

I'm guessing what heppened was after the emergence of the Marney Affair after 3 games into the league {Pats decided to check all their records & saw Mbaza wasn't registered at all.

Pats would have appeared to have used their get out of jail card with Marney by claiming they didn't register him properly by accident but Mbaza seems to be a clear case that he wasn't registered at all.

Dolan is not attempting to throw mud anywhere it will stcik to drag others down with him but I can't see how they can avoid a 15 point reduction.

All this makes a mockery of Dolans of a league conspiracy & shows the most likely truth to Marney was he wasn't registered at all until after the 3rd game.

**�anna** · 21/03/2002, 1:05 PM

this is a shambles, and while pats have c0cked.up, I lay the blame at the feet of the FAI. No way were pats the only ones who did this, we've more or less been told that already, and the reason everyone breaks the rules is that they know the FAI won't implement them. BURN DOWN MERRION SQUARE

**Jim Smith** · 21/03/2002, 3:45 PM

Originally posted by scottyshedender
They can be relegated, it happened to Hamilton Academicals last season. They were in second place miles ahead of third spot and had an "irregularity" or something stupid and lost most of their points and got relegated, they still lie in the division...

It was more than a season ago - I can't remember exactly when - and they refused to play a match due to a squad depleted by flu. They were told to play or face the 36 point penalty laid out in the rule book, they didn't show and got relegated. The club almost folded and a new owner/management took over. I suspect that there was some sort of skullduggery going on but the point is that the thing didn't end up in court with all sorts of rubbish being spouted by all and sundry about natural justice. I suppose the bottom line was that the SFA (who are far far from perfect) cared enough to deal with the thing properly from the outset whereas to the FAI the eL is just something that gets in the way of their junkets.

**pete** · 21/03/2002, 4:15 PM

I think we all know there is absolutely no way any eL club would get a punishment like Hamilton. IMO the league is all the poorer for it.

All these eL rule breaking comes down to lack of punishment for offenders & this more an irish thing than particularily an FAI thing.

If the FAI/eL have to search through every clubs player registrations & deduct points here & there even if some get negative points it may have come to the stage to do that once & for all.

**Schumi** · 21/03/2002, 4:26 PM

Pi$$ed off as I'd be if UCD lost a load of points over it, I think the time has come to check the registrations of every club and punish anyone who has unregistered players. Why this isn't done automatically after every game, I don't know but it has to be done now.

**Jaime** · 22/03/2002, 9:28 AM

Stating the obvious I know, but this season has been nothing but ammunition for non eL people.
This season has done some amount of damage to the already cynical opinions of those who don't support the league.
IMO the only way we can save the situation is by decent performances in Europe. I suppose by that I mean substantial progress. Meaning winning through two rounds of either or both of UEFA and CL. And I cant see Shels doing it if they go out with the same attitude as last year.