Bohs escape pitch sanction

SSE Airtricity League Director Fran Gavin has revealed Bohemians will escape sanction for Monday’s disastrous Dublin derby postponement against Shamrock Rovers.

The spotlight had been cast on the club after referee Tomás Connolly decided 45 minutes before kick off that the pitch was unplayable.

Gavin, speaking yesterday at Aviva Stadium at the launch of the newly-titled Continental Tyres women’s national league, insisted the league’s focus was on ensuring the issues surrounding the pitch were addressed.

“Our priority is ensuring this doesn’t occur again,” said Gavin. “We’ll meet the club again this week, so we’d rather work with the club and assist them in that area.”

Bohs, meanwhile, are adamant pitch experts reinforced their view that the fixture should have gone ahead: “An expert inspection of the pitch at Dalymount Park has assessed it as playable and presenting no safety hazard to players... A small repaired area behind one penalty spot had been identified by the referee as a particular issue. Agricultural scientist Pat Suttle reported to Bohemian FC the area in question did not constitute a hazard of such seriousness that it would cause serious injury to players.”

* The FAI are investigating a complaint of racism lodged by Bray Wanderers on behalf of their player Ismahil Akinade following an alleged exchange during last week’s game with Sligo Rovers at the Carlisle Grounds.