GALWAY’S U14 LADIES footballers thought they had made it through to an All-Ireland final with their recent victory over Cavan.
But it has since emerged that the Westerners fielded an ineligible player in their thrilling 3-11 to 1-12 semi-final win against the Breffni girls in Moate.
The decision to dump them out of the competition has been met with a strong reaction from one player’s parent quoted in the Connacht Tribune, whose daughter allegedly cried herself to sleep when the news emerged.
“Why dad, why? We did nothing wrong. It’s not fair, it’s just not fair.”
The Ladies Gaelic Football Association (LGFA) has issued a statement this afternoon, explaining the reasons behind Galway’s expulsion.
The42 learned that Galway were notified two days in advance of the game that one of their players was unregistered, which has been verified by the LGFA statement.
The Galway county board was then contacted by LGFA officials and urged to correct the issue – but the player involved still lined out.
Registrars in various counties have a facility available to them ensuring that administrative changes can be made on an online registration system right up until throw-in.
The LGFA has indicated that even though Galway were made aware of the possible penalties involved, the player involved was still not registered.
The LGFA was left with no option but to follow the rulebook and insist that even if a similar issue arose at senior level in an All-Ireland final, the same course of action would still apply.
A Galway appeal heard this week failed and Cavan will face Cork in the All-Ireland ladies U14 final in Banagher on 4 July (1pm).
The official LGFA statement released reads as follows:
“On Thursday, June 18th, an emergency meeting of the Central Council of the Ladies Gaelic Football Association was convened to discuss the Under 14 All Ireland Semi Final which took place on Saturday, June 13th.
The meeting was called to deal with the fact that Galway had played an unregistered player during their semi final win over Cavan.
“According to Rule 56 of the Official Guide of the Ladies Gaelic Football Association ‘Any team proved to have played an unregistered player shall be fined €100 per offending player and shall forfeit the game to their opponents unless exempted by Rule 258.’
“In this case rule 258 did not apply as the rule states that ‘a breach of rule by a Member, Club, or County occurred by default and without knowledge’ as in this case the Galway County Board had been informed of the situation regarding the unregistered player on June 11th, 2 days prior to the semi final, and were advised to register her.
In order for a player to play Ladies Gaelic football in an official competition, she must be a registered member of the Ladies Gaelic Football Association.
“It is clear from all the information forwarded that the player in question was not registered for the All Ireland Semi Final and Galway County Board had been notified of this situation on Thursday 11th June 2015.
“If a player is unregistered and participates in a game or training session, they are not covered by the Injury fund, meaning that should serious injury occur, the player and parents will not be covered for the financial hardship incurred as well as the obvious dangers to the health of the player.
“An appeal submitted by the Galway County board has been denied in accordance with Rule 297 of the Official Guide and the decision of Central Council on the 18th June stands.
Rule 297:
“There shall be no appeal against decisions of Central Council, except where fresh evidence is forthcoming that was not available at the time of the original decision.”
In accordance with the Association’s rules, as implemented by Central Council, Galway will forfeit the match.
Originally published at 13.46
