Jardine hasn’t ruled out a suspension

CHAIRMAN Neil Jardine hasn’t ruled out a suspension of the Fermanagh and Western League season if the escalating Covid-19 situation leads to the further disruption in fixtures.

Jardine said there were genuine concerns that all clubs were not observing the correct protocols and said that if the situation deteriorated the league management committee may well get to the point where they will consult clubs on whether or not is was feasible to carry on.

The weekend before last saw the games involving Strathroy Harps were postponed because a player tested positive, the previous weekend games involving

Lisnaskea Rovers suffered a similar fate and before the season kicked off Enniskillen Rangers were also forced to suspend all club activity.

At the beginning of last week Ballinamallard United took similar action after they confirmed two players had tested positive.

Jardine said the league was closely monitoring developments but insisted clubs themselves must stringently follow the guidelines set out by the Public Health Authority and Sport NI.

“The genuine concern is that players and clubs are not observing the correct protocols,” he said.

“Is that because they are too tight, onerous? It’s really difficult and maybe we will get to the stage were we will be asking is this feasible? Is it practical to continue in this vein were you are losing half a dozen matches each weekend? It’s so difficult to get a balance, a clear perspective at the moment.”

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