SFAI vote looks to change sanctions for breaking ‘50km rule’
All 41 delegates voted in favour of the proposal, which will no longer see teams expelled from competition if their players travel more than 50km from their school to register for a club.
Instead of the total ban for the season in question, teams will now forfeit the game or games, suffer a €1,000 fine and the player will then become the ‘property’ of the SFAI.
The Galway EGM was called after delegates rejected a change of the 50km zone to 80km earlier this summer at their AGM.
The 50km radius rule was only introduced at the SFAI AGM in 2011.
The FAI have called their own EGM for tomorrow to finally decide on the rule, so it remains to be seen if Saturday’s vote has satisfied all parties.
Last season, Tallaght underage club, Kilnamanagh FC, had their entire U15 squad thrown out of competition for fielding an illegible player.
According to SFAI chairman Michael O’Brien that would no longer occur under their proposed rule change.
“If a young lad is based within that 50km radius then there is no problem, but if a team breaks the rule, they will only lose the points awarded for that game,” he said.
“The team and the league in question will be fined as well, and the player will then become the property of the SFAI. After that the player can decide to return to his original club or any other club within the 50km radius.
O’Brien added: “As far as we are concerned, the rules comes into play since the vote was passed. The FAI will meet this week so we’ll just have to see what they do now.”
The FAI are believed to favour an 80km radius calculated from the players’ place of residence rather than their registered school as well as approving a change in the sanctions imposed.
