Portadown say they are “dismayed” by NIFL’s decision to not reimburse £2,000 spent on buses to transport players and fans to December’s trip against Coleraine which was ultimately called off just over an hour before kick-off due to Storm Darragh.

There was widespread controversy over the timing of match postponements on Saturday, December 7 with Linfield’s trip to Dungannon Swifts and the Ports’ clash at Coleraine both called off when fans were either already at the respective grounds or travelling to them.

Due to the effects of Storm Darragh, which brought heavy rainfall, significant wind and weather warnings to Northern Ireland from Friday evening into Saturday, all six Premiership matches were ultimately postponed.

NIFL CEO Gerard Lawlor offered an apology to impacted fans on social media and in an interview with BBC’s Good Morning Ulster said: “I wrote to our member clubs and we will put a process if people are out of pocket at supporters clubs we will look at seeing if we can help in some way as a gesture of goodwill.”

placeholder image — Portadown fans won't be compensated by NIFL for supporters buses to December's postponed fixture at Coelraine. (Photo by INPHO/Brian Little)

However, no compensation will now be paid to supporters clubs of either Linfield or Portadown, but the Blues have said they’ll cover 50% of the expenses for their fans while NIFL will make a charitable donation, which will go to NI Children’s Hospice.

Portadown “will now consider our options” for the best steps going forward but have signalled their intent to also financially assist impacted supporters clubs.

"Portadown Football Club wish to place on record our extreme disappointment with the outcome of discussions with the Northern Ireland Football League around the expenses incurred by the club & supporters clubs, following the postponement of our away game against Coleraine in December, due to Storm Darragh,” the club said in a statement.

“The concerns of supporters in relation to the late postponement of games on that weekend have been well documented, and we noted the prompt response to the situation, including public comments on helping supporters clubs who were out of pocket.

“Portadown FC had three supporters clubs buses as well as a team bus travel to Coleraine at a total cost of £2,010, with invoices submitted to NIFL as requested. Therefore, we were dismayed to learn that NIFL instead would look to make a donation to charity.

“While charitable donations are of course always welcome, unfortunately this gesture does nothing to help our supporters clubs at a time when many are struggling to cover the price of hiring buses because of rising transport costs.

“We as a club find it unacceptable that our supporters clubs have been left substantially out of pocket for what was an unnecessary and needless journey, and also deeply let down that they will not be compensated as was publicly suggested.

“We will now consider our options, but as a sign of appreciation to our supporters clubs who have travelled the width and breadth of the country all season, we will endeavour to make sure that we assist them financially, so that they do not have to fully burden the cost of decisions that were out of their control, but ultimately impacted them the most.”

In a statement made by Linfield on Wednesday afternoon, the Blues said they found the decision to not compensate fans for their trip as “deeply disappointing”.

"The Board of Linfield Football Club has noted correspondence received from the NI Football League (NIFL) advising that it will not be making any payments to our supporters clubs to compensate for the late postponement of our Premiership game against Dungannon Swifts on Saturday 7th December,” their statement read.

“This outcome is deeply disappointing for the club and its supporters clubs as expectations were raised that a goodwill gesture would be forthcoming to compensate supporters clubs for the unnecessary travel due to the adverse weather conditions caused by Storm Darragh.

“This club fully appreciates the loyalty and dedication shown by our supporters clubs across the country and has decided to cover 50% of travel costs on this occasion.

"This one-off gesture will ensure that supporters clubs will receive some compensation for their transport costs on the day and the club’s General Secretary will be in contact with those supporters clubs involved.

“We have also accepted NIFL’s offer to make a charitable donation and the NI Children’s Hospice, as the club’s main charity partner, will be the beneficiary of this donation.”