The Football Assocation of Ireland today released a statement in which it hit back at the recent criticism from Dublin clubs Bohemians and Shamrock Rovers over the date set for their FAI Carlsberg Cup semi-final clash. The two clubs wanted the match fixed for Friday night rather than Sunday afternoon and claimed that the FAI informed them that would not be possible because firstly, they would have to facilitate live coverage and secondly, because the Gardai had advised against holding it on Friday night.
However, because the match is not actually being broadcast live and because the Gardai confirmed independently to Rovers and Bohs that they had no objection to the fixture going ahead on Friday night, the two clubs have revealed their outrage over the FAI's decision to go ahead with the game on Sunday.
Now the FAI has released a statement defending its decision and explaining its position on the matter. In the statement, it details how at the time of the semi-final draw, the association was in talks about the possibility of televising the semi-finals. However, it insists that at no stage were any of the clubs involved informed that the matches would be "live".
The statement went on to say that once the semi-finals had become part of a highlights package, the scheduling had been reviewed but on security grounds it was decided to go ahead with the Rovers/Bohs clash on the Sunday afternoon. The FAI claim in the statement that both clubs had representatives at their security meetings and are aware of the potential difficulties.
The FAI concluded the statement by defending its promotion of the two ties, and claims it mounted an advertising campaign through newspapers, the internet and local media.
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
