John Fallon: A full apology from Ringmahon Rangers is overdue at this stage
CUP TIED: Ringmahon Rangers supporters before the 2024 FAI Intermediate Cup Final. Pic: Ben McShane/Sportsfile
Is it ever too late to say sorry? Ringmahon Rangers will discover the truth of that rhetorical question when they plead with the appeal committee for leniency over their FAI Cup punishment.
Whatever about the depth of their reputation crisis still in full flow, it will morph into a footballing version if their exclusion from the Intermediate Cup remains intact by the end of the appeals process.
There’s a sense of bemusement around Cork at how the biggest competition for amateur teams in the country was brought into this sanction at all.
Last Thursday’s unprecedented disciplinary action arose through the club’s withdrawal from an FAI Senior Cup fixture against Bohemians this Sunday.
A five-year ban from a competition they aren’t always guaranteed to be part of on an annual basis, while excessive, wasn’t necessarily paralysing.
It’s a whole different ball game being shut out of the Intermediate Cup for three seasons.
This is the Holy Grail for part-time players, a national competition which typically in recent years pits the best of Munster against Leinster in the latter stages.
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Two narrow extra-time defeats for Ringmahon in the 2024 and 2025 finals served to sate their appetite for eventual national glory.
That opportunity is being denied to a group of players and they’ve a case for feeling it unjust.
Ultimately, the decision to hand a walkover to Bohs three weeks in advance of the fixture rested with the club’s committee but was taken in consultation with the squad.
Reasons for this stance have been presented as varied but there’s nothing surprising in the kernel of it snowballing into a topic of national mockery.
As much as the club emphasised cited the enforced venue switch from their home ground to Cobh’s St Colman’s Park – and there is a cost attached – that is a complete red herring in the grand scheme of things.
For instance, there’d be no issue with the location had Bohs been available to play this Friday or Saturday, a situation prevented by their commitments in the Uefa Conference League.
Dress it up in any alternative way, yet the problem primarily stemmed from a scheduling clash.
Sunday, July 19, as chosen by the FAI for the second round, was circled in the calendar as the day of destiny for Cork’s hurlers in Croke Park and everything else was peripheral.
Maybe Ringmahon’s sole sin in instigating this episode was their honesty but in the wider realm this was akin to a red rag to a bull, leaving themselves exposed to national ridicule.
Player availability was the standout excuse in a lengthy statement released hours after the Irish Examiner broke the story that has transcended the sporting code Rubicon.
Given the amateur season finishes in May, whereas the League of Ireland runs through the summer, the risk of holidays persists for non-league clubs. That wasn’t the overriding case here.
Rightly or wrongly, a chunk of Ringmahon’s players planned to attend or watch the All-Ireland final at a time directly in conflict with the Cup clash and the FAI’s early deadline forced the club into what they derided as an ‘impossible position’.
What the committee neglected to reference in their only public message was declining an offer from Bohs to reverse the fixture to Dalymount Park, with a greater share of the gate receipts to boot.
This would have removed the obstacles raised, facilitating players attending nearby Croke Park thereafter and allowing the remainder to watch proceedings on their premises.
As it transpired, Galway ensured there’d be no back-to-back hurling showpieces for the Leesiders.
This was when the hole Ringmahon had dug began to deepen.
What was designed as black humour in posting a social media message within hours of the semi defeat seeking a friendly to fill the gap was perceived by the majority as crass.
Without itemising it in their own statement, the FAI thought similarly dim of the stunt.
The three-pronged punishment, including the €5,000 fine a multiple of what North End were hit with for a walkover in the previous round, proved an example was being set.
Ringmahon will require the best of legal counsel at the appeal, and likely arbitration, to defend the charges of respect of integrity being flouted. Sympathy has so far been scarce.
They last week started the Road to Damascus by deleting the contentious post and could accelerate it with another act of contrition.
A full apology is overdue at this stage and necessary to validate their mantra of ‘keeping Cork soccer alive since 1951’.
A professional career that commenced by Alex Ferguson hosting him at his Old Trafford office 20 years ago ended under the guidance of another mentor, John Caulfield, for Conor McCormack.
The midfielder formed the backbone of Caulfield’s 2017 double-winning squad and in his swansong over the weekend, McCormack pinpointed that year at Cork City as one his favourite periods.
That career also entailed an early two-year stint at Serie B club Triestina and learning the Italian language was another reason to be proud of his travails.
He’s perfectly placed to advise the next generation in his new role as one of the FAI’s underage international coaches.
McCormack’s 151st, and final, appearance for Galway United was as a late sub in Saturday’s win over Sligo Rovers, a fitting end to his five-and-a-half years in the west.
“A lot has happened in my career but I’ve no more to give,” the 36-year-old told Mike Rafferty of Galway Bay FM.
“I won the league with Shamrock Rovers under Michael O’Neill, the FAI Cup at St Pat’s, played alongside a great captain at Derry City in the late Ryan McBride and had an unbelievable time at Cork City.
“John Caulfield was the main reason I came to Galway six seasons ago and I’m glad we got the club back as First Division champions into an established Premier Division club.”
Denise O’Sullivan’s abrupt return Stateside from Liverpool is just one of the moves afoot for Irish players as the focus turns to the World Cup playoffs in the Autumn.
National Women’s Soccer League champions Gotham are favourites to land the Cork native and she’ll link up with recent capture from Chelsea, Australian Sam Kerr. Although O’Sullivan, 32, talked up the benefits for her international of avoiding jet-lag, personal considerations were foremost in ditching her Reds stint after just six months.
Her Ireland teammate Jessie Stapleton is also set for a new challenge. The Ireland defender has attracted admirers across the English pyramid, including Liverpool, but fellow top-flight side Leicester City are favourites to land the West Ham United defender.
Meanwhile, Leesider Saoirse Noonan is a target for newly-promoted Women’s Super League 2 club Watford.
Noonan, 26, recently parted ways with Celtic and is set for a return to the English second tier having begun her UK career in 2022 with Durham.
The Hornets are also keen on snapping up Shelbourne’s midfield dynamo Aoibheann Clancy. The Limerick native has spoken of her ambition to sample the cross-channel circuit after completing her studies at UCD.
Ireland striker Emily Murphy's stock is also on the rise, having agreed a deal to sign for Brighton and Hove Albion from Newcastle United.
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