Shelbourne fury at points ruling

Shelbourne FC have threatened to withdraw from the National League in protest at a decision to hand back nine points that had been deducted from title rivals Saint Patrick's Athletic FC.

Appeal upheld
A Football Association of Ireland (FAI) arbitration panel upheld an appeal by St Patrick's against their nine-point penalty for playing Paul Marney in three league games when the midfield player had not been properly registered.

Moved to the top
The decision delighted the Richmond Park stadium club, who moved from fourth to first place in the table, two points clear of Shelbourne. The arbitrator argued that a nine-point penalty was not within the spirit of the rules as St Patrick's had not profited from the incident, and pointed out that Marney had been with the club during the previous season.

Options examined
But Shelbourne are bitterly angry at the ruling. They had board meetings on Monday and Tuesday to consider their options, which include an appeal to FIFA, an injunction in the Irish courts, or even a withdrawal from the league. "There's absolutely no such thing as 'spirit of the rules'," said Shelbourne manager Dermot Keely. "Why do they bother putting rules in their book? It's absurd!"

'Finally behind us'
League commissioner Roy Dooney hoped that the matter was now closed, saying: "The fact is that after this ruling we have a situation in which four or even five clubs are in with a real chance of winning the title and the hope is that we can allow an exciting run in to the league campaign to unfold on the pitch. It's all been something of a cloud hanging over us for a very long time now and it would be nice to think that the whole thing is finally behind us."