Shelbourne hit out at ‘unfair’ call to postpone

SHELBOURNE yesterday hit out at the ‘unfair’ postponement of their home game with St Patrick’s Athletic. The club’s statement came after St Pat’s acknowledged the FAI’s ‘understanding’ after their delayed return from Sofia caused today’s Premier Division game against Shelbourne to be postponed.

The Saints are due back in Dublin this morning after ‘unprecedented circumstances’ in ‘sourcing charters’ left them stranded in Bulgaria for 48 hours. While agreeing to the postponement, the FAI have said they will ‘review this matter’ and will consider the ‘next steps’ in due course.

However, Shels are deeply unhappy with the decision.

‘It is incredibly unfair on our supporters, volunteers and the Gardai to have had Sunday’s game called off at short notice, especially considering that this fixture had previously been rescheduled from Friday,’ said the club in their statement yesterday.

‘As it stands, we have had just two home games in three months.’

The Reds are facing a potential fixture backlog as they have played the fewest games in the Premier Division and, unlike Pats, remain involved in the Extra.ie FAI Cup.

Shels have had just two home games since May 23 and their next game at Tolka Park is on August 19.

St Pats issued an earlier statement yesterday detailing their difficulties following their 1-0 win over CSKA Sofia on Thursday in the Europa Conference League.

‘We understand that many fans would have been looking forward to the (Shelbourne) game. We regret this fixture is not going ahead.’