'Do people actually care?': Irish League boss blasts 'really poor and unfair' scheduling after two matches in just over 24 hours
Glentoran boss Kim Turner has blasted “really poor and unfair” fixture scheduling after her side played two matches in just over 24 hours this week – questioning “do people actually care about the women's game?”.
Turner’s side were beaten 4-0 by Cliftonville Ladies in the BOYLE Sports Women’s League Cup final at Seaview on Sunday afternoon and were remarkably back in action again on Monday evening, losing out 2-0 to Lisburn Rangers in the Challenge Cup quarter-finals.
The quick turnaround meant Turner was forced into making 10 changes – goalkeeper Ashleigh McKinnon was the only player who started in both matches while the likes of Rachel Rogan and Jenna McKearney were also involved twice in as many days.
Glentoran could find themselves in a similar situation once again later this month – they face Riga FC in Champions League qualifying on July 22 and if victorious will take on either Wrexham or Pyunik on July 25.
However, the Glens also have a Premiership match scheduled against Linfield on July 24 as they look to defend their league crown.
Turner has revealed Glentoran officials are looking into the situation and wants to “actually see something happening”.
"I think the scheduling of the fixtures is really poor and really unfair on players, who are working full-time jobs as well as juggling some important games into their schedule," said Turner. "We are trying to do our best and prepare the squad as best we can for the games but the fact is the games have to be played.
"It doesn't really matter if you reschedule the games as there aren't enough available windows to give players enough time between matches.
"Uefa are really clear about the required amount of recovery time between fixtures and it makes me think, do people actually care about the women's game?
"Our club reps are looking into it and the players have also spoken to the PFA about it and hopefully we actually see something happening as it's not fair on the clubs.
"We have a UEFA Champions League game coming up against Riga FC on July 22 with the play-off final set for three days later and on top of that we have a League game against Linfield on the 24th.
"The Champions League qualifiers don't seem to have been factored into the fixture schedule at all and that's unfair on the likes of ourselves who want to give a good account of not only ourselves, but the league and country as a whole."