A CORK SOCCER club official has hit out at the decision to fine his club €200 for refusing to continue playing an underage league game after one of their players was subjected to racial abuse.
The Irish Examiner has reported today that Carrigaline United received the fine after a recent U15 Cork schoolboys league game. Their management refused to allow the team take to the field for the second-half after the incident occurred. The club was subsequently fined for not continuing to play the game.
Carrigaline official Ted O’Callaghan told The Breakfast Show on Newstalk this morning that incidents like this ‘shouldn’t have to happen’.
“One of the players on our team had been racially abused by one of the opposing players on a number of occasions during the game. He’d spoken to the manager and was in quite a distressed state about it.
“The manager had approached the referee and the referee asked him did he wish to continue or did he wish to take his team from the pitch. At which point, the manager said he was going to take the team from the pitch as this was the second time it had occurred during the season to the same player. He felt he was making a stand on the issue at hand.
“The manager in question and the club official went to a disciplinary meeting. The manager stated his case and stood up for the players and the team. A week later we were handed a sanction.
“”The player was subjected to racial abuse because of the colour of his skin. We would be quite a big club and we’d have a lot of ethnic minorities who play games every weekend. It shouldn’t have to happen.
“I’m not speaking on behalf of the club. It’s something that I feel very strongly about and I want to voice it.”
Fair play to the manager for making a stand on the issue. Absolute disgrace the team got fined
I deplore racism and it has no place anywhere in life but especially when pushed on young kids for that matter.
Spoke to a Cork friend yesterday who said the Coach was fined because Schoolboy Lg felt he did it because they were 1-0 down at half time and wanted to force a replay.
What a joke.
The final call is the ref’s….can’t be stealing his authority
Only in Soccer would you be fined for doing the right and moral thing.
I dunno rugby and cricket weren’t shy in touring south Africa back in the apartheid era…. But agree that the club should be commended for the stance they took….
Well yes for rugby but the fallout from the D’Oliveira affair in ’68 meant that cricket was pretty strict on it with players going there being banned by their home associations and no official tours for around 30 years.
I’d agree with the coach and the simple solution should be for the other team to forfeit the game. The bully will learn a lesson.
Another solution would be to drop the player from the squad. No need for racism in the game, especially at under age level.
@James , I’d go with a 3 strikes and your out approach, kids need to learn that actions have consequences but also need the opportunity to learn from their mistakes. From what Ive seen of kids leagues here in Dublin most coaches are great at instilling fair play except in 2 cases I saw where the coach was either a foul mouthed a-hole or actually encouraged dodgy behaviour. Forfeit a game and put the onus on the coach to stamp out this from of behaviour.
I’m not saying the child should be kicked out. Drop him for a couple of games. They’ll learn fairly quick then.
Crazy….. Next, after the fine, they’ll force the team to play in front of KKK…..
WoW, what message does that send out. Shocking by the Cork soccer league. Well done to Carrigaline. Great moral backbone and support for their player.
That is bound to be overturned.
Why didn’t the ref red card the offending player and continue with the game ?
Presume the ref was unaware of the offense. H
So cant take action without “proof”.
He was prepared to abandon the game without proof?
the ref didn’t abandon the game, one of the teams did. Refs are in a tough spot sometimes. They can’t react to hearsay from another player.
Read the article….not just the headline
He can’t red card him if he didn’t hear it
Maybe the offending player was also a minority and it was positive discrimination from the ref : )
Top work by the manager. Racism needs to be confronted and it’s even more important when children are involved.
This club should be applauded for making a stand. The league on the other hand should cop on.
The team harbouring the racist should be fined and temporarily banned from competition.
I’d refuse to pay the fine. Fair play too the coach. Taking a stand like this will cause a ripple effect and other teams players suffering from racial abuse will do the same. Well done.
I bet the league are red faced now that it has gotten this much publicity, and rightly so too.
The manager did the right thing, the incident left the young player upset, there is a duty of care and a child protection issue here, seemingly the League does not view this as important as finishing the match.
I played underage soccer for years and throwing insults of all kinds were commonplace back then. The coach did the right thing, but broadly speaking it is wrong to focus in only on racism while bullying can also be commonplace. Sometimes that bullying comes from other teammates, sometimes opposing players.
Who fined the club – i.e.does this ultimately lead to the FAI ?
No schoolboy leagues are not run by the FAI.
Not doubting the manager or the player, but would love to know why the League would feel he was trying to force a replay, what proof have they of this and are thry dismissing the racusm claim
Is the offending child going to be on the receiving end of some sort of official sanction? Let’s hope so! It’ll be grand if this happens and the news is mentioned in a follow up report. Children need to learn – just as the officials who imposed the fine need to grow up!
What is the FAI statement on it… i never have my kids play soccer if racial abused kid, his/her team do the right thing and get fined for it
Well done Carrigaline fc,the Rosa Parkes of your generation.
The Cork Schoolboys League better do something very public very fast as right now their name is becoming synonymous with KLux Klux Klan. Seriously? How is it a child is abused in one of their teams, a victim of racist attacks, and they see fit to not only do nothing but go after the victim and his team who did the noble thing? Make them look like a group of racist hate mongers themselves supporting such. Also, who was the other team? They should name and shame them along with the coach as well. What was the other coaches name who allowed his players to abuse another child and engage in racist behaviour?