We will not stay silent while the club's heart, soul and identity are being torn away': Cork City supporters' groups

Cork City supporters after the Sports Direct Men’s FAI Cup quarter-final match between Finn Harps and Cork City. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

Cork City supporters' groups have confirmed their plans to protest against the club's ownership on Friday night at Turner's Cross.

With the City first team on the brink of relegation from the Premier Division for the third time in five seasons, speculation about a planned protest staged around the FAI Cup semi-final clash with St Patrick's Athletic has been rife. 

A statement released by Commandos84, on behalf of the Cork City supporters' groups, on Wednesday morning confirmed that the protest will take place. 

However, the statement includes that their frustrations will be aimed "squarely" at club owner Dermot Usher "and the direction he is taking the club", rather than the City players. 

The supporters' groups note that they "will not stay silent while the club's heart, soul and identity are being torn away".

The statement in full reads: 

"Cork City Football Club is one of the best supported clubs in the League of Ireland.

"Week in, week out, our fans turn up in huge numbers, home and away, creating an atmosphere and passion that no other club can match. This is a club that has won league titles, lifted FAI Cups, and represented Ireland in Europe. 

"With that proud history and unrivalled backing comes expectation — expectation of pride, of ambition, and of success. Cork City supporters do not settle for mediocrity, and we will never accept a future of decline.

"Cork City fans have backed our players 100% from the first whistle to the last this season and our support has never wavered. But despite that, this has been a disastrous year — relegated for the second time in just three seasons.

"Since Dermot Usher took ownership, the decline has only accelerated. We have had multiple managers in a short space of time, no clear vision, and constant instability.

"The club now charges the highest ticket prices in the league, while treating supporters with disdain and pushing us further and further away from the club we built. The connection is gone, the soul is slipping away, and Cork City is being dragged towards becoming nothing more than a yo-yo club bouncing between divisions. 

"That is not good enough. Not for our history. Not for our city. Not for our fans.

"We demand better. We deserve better. This is Cork City Football Club — our club, our community, our pride. It must never be reduced to a plaything or a business experiment.

"Friday night's protest is not against the players. They have had our full backing all season and will continue to have it. This protest is aimed squarely at the owner and the direction he is taking our club.

"Cork City belongs to the people of Cork. And we will not stay silent while its heart, soul and identity are being torn away.

"We are Cork City Football Club. We will always fight for our club."

The statement's release follows City manager Ger Nash and players Seani Maguire and Fiacre Kelleher calling for the "most passionate fan base in the country" to back the team in the last-four meeting with St Pat's - a fixture that provides a chance to return to the Aviva Stadium and the FAI Cup final for the first time since 2018.