OPINION: Connacht Junior Cup saga to rumble on as Castlebar Celtic to appeal replay decision

The Mayo News has learned that Castlebar Celtic are to appeal the Connacht FA’s ruling that their Connacht Junior Cup semi-final with Salthill Devon has to be replayed.

The match was originally played on May 5 with Celtic winning 1-0 thanks to a controversial Luke Kelly goal. Kelly was in an offside position when he received the ball, but the referee’s assistant kept his flag down and Celtic played on.

Salthill appealed on the basis that the match officials were from Mayo, and the Connacht FA’s rules state that neutral officials must be used for semi-finals and finals, unless both teams play within the one league.

When queried by the officials, prior to the match being played, the Connacht FA ordered the appointment to proceed. This was a grave error, on top of the grave error of appointing Mayo officials to the tie, in the first place.

Salthill appealed the appointment, which was in breach of Connacht FA Rule 24, after the game.

The appeal was upheld on Thursday night last, and the game was ordered to be replayed. Celtic were livid; they had done nothing wrong.

They met last night (Friday) and decided to appeal the Connacht FA ruling to the FAI. It’s difficult to see them winning the appeal.

The saga raises a number of questions.

Would Salthill have appealed if they had won the match? Probably not.

Would Celtic have appealed had they lost? Probably not also. It would be very difficult for them to appeal against the appointment of Mayo referees to the match.

Why did the Connacht FA ignore their own rules in the first place with the appointment of Mayo referees to a game involving a Mayo side?

Why did they reinforce this error when it was queried by the Mayo FA on behalf of the officials in question?

What will Celtic do, if their appeal is unsuccessful?

Celtic are left with three options now.

If their appeal is unsuccessful, they could try an appeal possibly to UEFA or the courts. This seems an unlikely outcome, but nothing surprises me anymore.  They could withdraw from the competition which would see Salthill play Maree Oranmore in the final. Or they could play the game, which is not as certain as it might seem. This would still be the best option of the three, in my view, if the appeal is lost.

No matter how you look at this, it is a mess, totally of the making of the Connacht FA. It is a spectacular error of rules application and of judgement. The fact that the deciding goal should not have stood is secondary. Something would have decided the tie anyway as it had to be sorted on the day.

Castlebar Celtic have been put in a horrible position, entirely through no fault of their own. Every choice open to them is a negative option, in an already busy season.  Salthill did no wrong either. They are just following a line many clubs would. It’s hard to blame them.

It’s a story that won’t go away.