Appeal and protest to be heard within a week

AN appeal and a protest, the outcome of which will have significant implications for this season’s Junior Cup and Mulhern Cup competitions, will be heard over the course of a week.

This evening (Wednesday) an IFA appeals board will consider an objection lodged by Dergview Reserves.

The Castlederg club appealed a decision by the Fermanagh and Western FA to play their controversial Mulhern Cup quarter-final with NFC Kesh at a neutral venue.

The tie was to be completed at Darragh Park at the end of last month, however, the visitors refused to play when they discovered that the last-eight encounter was going to be played on the second pitch and not the main pitch at the north Tyrone venue. Kesh claimed that constituted a change of venue!

Dergview Reserves claim they hadn’t stipulated which pitch the tie would be played on, and, therefore in their view, Kesh had in effect failed to field.

The F&W ruled that the outstanding tie should be played at a neutral venue, in this case the small 3G at the Bawnacre.

Dergview weren’t happy that they had lost home advantage and subsequently contested the decision.

Meanwhile the IFA disciplinary committee will consider Tummery’s protest against Enniskillen Rangers, who, it is claimed, allowed a suspended player to attend last month’s compelling Junior Cup semi-final clash between the sides at Ferney Park.

Tummery claim that the suspended Jordan McClure had been in attendance at the tie in question, which Rangers won 3-1, when he shouldn’t have been.

That protest will be heard on Wednesday next, April 24, just 24 hours before the sides are to due to meet in the semi-final of the Mulhern Cup back at Ferney Park.