Licence failure sees Longford fined and hit for six

LONGFORD Town have been hit with a €6,000 fine and six-point deduction by the FAI which leaves them bottom of the eircom League Premier Division.

Longford were among a number of clubs on whom sanctions were imposed in April for failure to comply with Club Licensing regulations.

An extension until the beginning of this month to supply the required information was granted to the clubs and, with the exception of Longford, all had met yesterday’s deadline.

According to an FAI statement: “Longford Town FC failed to provide the necessary information and as such they were non-compliant with the requirements of the FAI Club Licensing Manual.”

Longford have for long been the subject of concerned speculation about the club’s financial stability. Last month, the club attributed a late submission of their accounts to the ill-health of their Treasurer and, at the same time, admitted that monies were owed to players owing to “cash flow difficulties” in previous seasons.

However, the club insisted that they were dealing with the problems and that their future was secure. Chairman Jim Hanley was not available for comment last night as he is on business in Japan. Manager Alan Matthews described the news as ‘devastating.’

“It came as no surprise to me that his situation has arisen. I was aware that the FAI licensing committee had problems with the club not just this year but also in previous seasons,” said Matthews.

“To lose six points is devastating for the players, supporters and myself after scrapping six points from four games prior to last week’s 5-0 defeat by Bohemians at Dalymount Park.”

Now Longford — if they continue in football — have a massive task to avoid relegation after that six-point deduction. Their league points total after ten games of the season is now zero — seven points behind second from bottom Galway United. It is no surprise that boss Matthews will be seeking an urgent meeting with the club directors to discuss the way forward.

Meanwhile the Director of the eircom League of Ireland, Fran Gavin, said the decision is unfortunate for the supporters, manager and players but is also an endorsement of the licensing process.

Gavin said: “The club were on notice that they were facing the possibility of sanctions. They were one of several clubs that were given an extension by the First Instance Licensing Committee to meet their licensing obligations and they were the only club that failed to present the documentation. Longford can have no complaints because they were given every chance to get their house in order.

“The purpose of club licensing is to ensure that clubs are managed and run properly and clubs should know by this stage that if they don’t fulfil the criteria they face the possibility of fines, points deductions or even the withdrawal of their licence.

“I believe that football in Limerick is now in a much healthier state as a result of the licensing process, while Shelbourne and Shamrock Rovers are both much better-run clubs after going through a similar process.”