Ulster Council order
re-fixture after Burt lodge successful appeal
THE Division 4 promotion play-off between Burt
and Naomh Colmcille is back on again after the Ulster
Council ordered that it replayed.
The play-off, which was postponed on four occasions in
December because pitches were unplayable, ended in
controversy on Monday 3 January when the Burt club,
citing work commitments of several players, failed to
fulfil the fixture.
Naomh Colmcille took the field and were awarded the
match by the Donegal Competitions Control Committee (CCC)
at a meeting of 5 January and told they were promoted to
Division 3 for 2011.
However, Burt lodged an appeal with the Ulster Council
and attended a hearing in Armagh last Thursday night to
outline their case and sought to have the CCC’s decision
overturned.
The Burt club was officially informed yesterday
(Wednesday) that their appeal had been upheld. They
successfully argued that they had been given
insufficient notice of the game, and also that the CCC
which dealt with the appeal was not properly
constituted.
The CCC have the option of appealing the decision to
Croke Park, but it is thought unlikely that they will do
so. Naomh Colmcille were not party to the appeal to
Ulster and therefore have no right to appeal to Croke
Park.
“We were notified by email yesterday that our appeal had
been upheld and the Ulster Council ordered that the game
between Burt and Naomh Colmcille be re-scheduled with
appropriate notice,” outgoing club secretary Damian
Dowds said.
But Naomh Colmcille chairman James Dowds said his club
have already been promoted to Division 3 and won’t
participate in a play-off game.
“This is a matter between Burt and the County Board but
our position has not changed. The bottom line is we have
been promoted to Division Three and we will not be
playing anymore games this season unless someone can
come and show me a rule that we have broken.”
“We’re glad to have got a fair hearing at Ulster and at
last we’ve seen some common sense,” the Burt secretary
said.
“We were forced to take this appeal because of a series
of ill-judged fixtures made by the CCC over the
Christmas period. The game was fixed for St Stephen’s
Day, 26 December and we were told that if the pitch
wasn’t playable it would be played the following day.
“When snow put paid to those fixtures, the game was then
fixed for the Bank Holiday Monday, 3 January. We had
several players working on that day, and we wrote to the
CCC asking for the game to be played on a Sunday.
The game was called off on Sunday 2 January, but put
back on again a few hours later. Burt informed the CCC
that it would not fulfil the fixture, but the game went
ahead with Naomh Colmcille, the referee and other
officials all turning up in Castlefin at the appointed
time.
“We fulfilled more than 40 competitive fixtures in 2010,
and our players had given up a huge amount of time
playing and training in football and hurling. We had to
call a stop to the lunacy of expecting players to give
up their Christmas celebrations, or to choose between
the work and their pastime.
Damian Dowds said that he did not expect that this would
sour relations between the neighbouring clubs.
“Our dispute was with the CCC and not Naomh Colmcille,
and in their public comments Naomh Colmcille management
and officials have always acknowledged that.
“But it’s better all round that the outcome of this game
will be decided on the playing field rather than in the
committee room.”
The 2011 All County Leagues are due to commence on
Sunday 20 March. The new CCC will be officially
appointed at next Monday night’s county committee
meeting and their first task will be to schedule this
promotion play-off, with Sunday 13 February the only
free weekend with no National Football League or
National Hurling League games scheduled between now and
then. |
