OPINION: Cup saga ‘about-turn’ further erodes public confidence in IFA

Because the fallout from the Irish Cup eligibility row surrounding the Ballymena United midfielder might well have the effect of hammering the final nail in the coffin of Irish League football as far as a lot of people in this town - and perhaps further afield - are concerned.

Bizarre as it sounds, reaching the ‘right’ decision in this protracted saga is no longer the primary issue for many people - both Ballymena and Newry will argue that their particular representations and interpretations of the various regulations referred to in the case are ‘right’.

And therein lies the problem.

Let’s get down to brass tacks here. Barring a tiny minority, the average man in the street has neither a grasp of nor interest in the contents of the rulebook.

They don’t go to football matches to discuss with their mates the finer points of Article 27(a), sub-section B, paragraph 12.

They want to simply know, are the rules contained within that rulebook being adhered to?

It is not too much to ask for one single clear, concise and unequivocal set of rules which leave no doubt in anyone’s mind as to the regulations and their penalties in the event of them being breached.

At first glance, under the IFA’s Challenge Cup rules, it appeared to be an open-and-shut case that Davidson was ineligible to play, having been signed after the deadline for fielding players IN THAT COMPETITION.

When Ballymena made their submissions to the IFA’s Challenge Cup Committee, their interpretation of both the IFA Premiership - the league in which Ballymena compete - rules on the subject of player eligibility and FIFA regulations on the topic were enough to convince that particular committee that Newy’s protest should be dismissed.

Fast forward just over a week and a different panel of people - the IFA’s Appeals Board - took an entirely different view and upheld Newy’s appeal, leading to Ballymena being thrown out of the competition.

It is that total about-turn by a different grouping within the same organisation - much more so than the expulsion itself - which sticks in the craw of Ballymena fans.

The ultimate outcome of last night’s appeal hearing would have been grudgingly accepted by the majority of Ballymena fans, had it been delivered at the time of Newry’s original protest.

Instead, Ballymena fans are distraught that their hopes of taking part in the Irish Cup semi-final against Linfield were built up by the original decision by the IFA, only to be cruelly snatched away by, er, the IFA.

When the dust eventually settles on this episode, the perception of the governing body in the eyes of the average fans will have gone further through the floor - particularly in the wake of a string of similar registration issues involving the IFA over the past number of years.

Those episodes, along with many, many other factors, are likely to have contrived to turn people away from the local game in favour of other cross-channel or televised football - and that should be of grave concern to the Irish Football Association.