Celtic lose cup appeal

Celtic lose cup appeal

8 February 2023

THE Bobby Dalzell Cup final will go ahead at Drumaness on St Patrick’s Day— almost three months late.

Strangford will take on Ballynagross after Celtic Bhoys lost an appeal to be reinstated in the competition.

The Hoops were thrown out just four days before the Newcastle League’s Christmas showpiece for fielding an ineligible player in their semi-final — which was against Ballynagross.

Last week, the Irish FA rejected Celtic Bhoys’ appeal and upheld the league’s original decision.

It is uncertain if Celtic will mount a further appeal.

A Newcastle League spokesman said last night: “We are not aware of any other appeal and are proceeding on the basis that the final will be between Strangford and Ballynagross on St Patrick’s Day.”

The controversy centred on Celtic Bhoys fielding Blaine Connolly for the semi-final against Ballynagross on November 11, which the Hoops won 3-1.

It was later discovered that Connolly had received two yellow cards earlier in the competition, which meant that he was ineligible to play.

The Newcastle League’s management committee met on December 22 and expelled Celtic from the competition — just four days before the final was to take place.

Celtic appealed the dismissal on the grounds that, under the old rules, a player could accumulate a total of five yellow cards in all competitions before an automatic suspension would apply.

Appearing before the IFA Appeals Board on January 24, the club said it accepted that Connolly had played in the semi-final against Ballynagross and that he had been the subject of two separate yellow cards in the earlier rounds of the same competition. 

However,  it said it acted “in good 

faith” and was unaware that Connolly was suspended and should not have played.

Last week, the Appeals Board said there were no grounds for them to uphold Celtic Bhoys’ appeal.

It also said it was incumbent on teams participating in amateur cup competitions to ensure that they remained up to date with rule changes.

The Newcastle League will be hoping for a bumper crowd for the rescheduled final on March 17. Kick-off at Meadowvale will be at 11am.