Irish League club has appeal over Irish Cup exit 'dismissed' after citing safety concerns for not fulfilling fixture
Premier Intermediate League outfit Dergview have had their appeal over an Irish Cup exit dismissed, meaning scheduled opponents Wellington Rec will procced to face Linfield in the fifth round at Windsor Park next month.
With the fourth round match due to take place on November 23 at Brookvale Park in Larne – the home of Wellington Rec – Dergview opted not to make the near four-hour round trip, citing travel concerns caused by the effects of Storm Bert and felt it was unsafe to make the journey.
Rule 20a of the Irish Challenge Cup Committee Rules states: "Any club refusing or failing to play against the club against which it has been drawn on the date fixed by the Committee and without sufficient reasons for so doing, shall be adjudged to have lost the match and will be otherwise dealt with as the Committee may determine.”
In a hearing of the case, Dergview felt the weather conditions provided sufficient reason for the match to be rearranged, and while acknowledging that there is no definition of the term "sufficient reason" within the rules, the Appeals Board ultimately disagreed after hearing evidence from both sides.
The Castlederg club also referred to previous Appeal Board decisions, including Raceview Ladies FC v NIWFA (2024), which was based around player unavailability due to participation in the Black Saturday parade – Dergview argued that if availability of players is deemed a sufficient reason, then health and safety of players and staff is also a sufficient reason to rearrange a fixture.
The Respondent referred to a number of clubs who had travelled on November 23, including two teams also from Castlederg and one making the trip from Enniskillen to Larne, and said no official major road closures were reported.
Ultimately, the decision was taken to not reinstate Dergview into the Irish Cup, but an imposed £250 fine was nullified.
In a Facebook post on November 26, three days after the original scheduled Irish Cup fourth round fixture date, manager Ivan Sproule said: “I will stand by my decision at the weekend not to make this group of young men, my coaches and our supporters travel in such terrible conditions.
"I firmly believe sometimes in life there’s a bigger picture to be looked at and on Saturday that was the safety of my people. I understand rules are rules but the decision to remove our club from the Irish Cup is nothing short of disgraceful.
"I will always feel as if I have won at the weekend as I kept the people of our club safe and no cup win or points can ever have that worth. We are proud people in Castlederg and at Dergview FC we always look out for each other as we do anyone comes into our club football.
"It’s about family and family is about taking care of each other. I urge our fans to share our badge tonight as we will always be proud of our morals and values. BAWA forever, the gaffer.”
The full document regarding Dergview FC v Irish Football Association's Challenge Cup Committee can be read here.