Cork League refuse to play ball
The decision of Cork Schoolboys League management committee follows an intervention last week by the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) to allow teams from their largest league in the country, the Dublin District Schoolboys League (DDSL), re-enter the competitions that cater for teams from U12 to U16.
Kerry have also informed the FAI and SFAI that they are reserving their right to take action.
In December, 30 of the 32 affiliated leagues under the auspices of SFAI had voted to exclude the DDSL teams from the open stage of the draw.
The vote was taken after the DDSL had refused to set fixtures for their region of the national cup competitions, the only one of eight regions not to do so.
However, that move has effectively been reversed in the past week.
Under directive from the FAI, the DDSL were last week permitted to remake their section of the draw – a direct breach of an SFAI rule decreeing that all draws are held centrally in an unseeded format.
Their four qualifiers at each age-group are to be entered into a new 32-team open-draw next Thursday at Abbotstown – replacing the 28-team draw made in December.
Last Saturday, the SFAI council reluctantly rubberstamped the u-turn recommended by their executive arising from a meeting 48 hours earlier with FAI chief executive John Delaney.
As the Cork League believe that the DDSL are gaining an unfair advantage, they are refusing to recognise the new draw as official.
Feedback from their 25 teams through to the open stages indicates fixtures may not be fulfilled.
“We strongly believe that schoolboy football clubs in Cork, and every other league in the country, should be treated equally with their counterparts in the DDSL and entirely understand the sense of betrayal felt by Cork clubs,” said CSL Chairman Peter Connolly.
“We believe that any draw that is changed at midpoint to suit some participants will be biased.
“As such, we cannot treat any new draw as being the same SFAI national cups which clubs from 31 other leagues entered in good faith, and played in accordance with the original open draw of 24th August 2013.
“Accordingly, we will not have any connection with any new last-32 draw and will be fully supportive of any club who decides not to participate on a point of principle.”
Martin Conway, Chairman of the Kerry Schoolboys League, released a statement chiming with his Munster counterpart.
“We believe this is totally unfair to the clubs from the other 31 Leagues who have done nothing wrong and have played their games as per the National Cup calendar,” he said following a meeting of their clubs.
“Clubs who were lucky enough to have been given a home draw now could face a trip away with cost up of up to €1,000 depending on how far they have to travel.
“The League and its clubs reserve the right to decide what action, if any it and the clubs will take following the redraw.”
With other leagues expected to row in behind this breakaway, a situation that looked to have brought under control appears to have a long distance to run.
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