Storm Darragh: NIFL to look at reimbursing supporters after late call-offs – Gerard Lawlor
The decision to cancel the match at short notice was widely criticized, with Northern Ireland Communities Minister Gordon Lyons saying that supporters who had gone to the match venue Trapped in a ‘terrible situation’.
Lawler also said the NIFL would consider revamping its response to weather warnings to take the pressure off home clubs, referees and stadium safety officials.
“We will have a meeting with our clubs in January. We will obviously discuss and learn from what happened,” he added.
“This is an adult conversation that needs to be had. Unfortunately for us, a lot of our clubs can’t agree. We are a membership association.
“People were talking about the 70-minute extension at Dungannon. My staff started working at 7am that morning. We had a lot of calls to those home clubs and a lot of calls to some of the away clubs.
“People in the area told us, ‘No, there’s no threat to the game, it’s playable’. You know Dungannon were very angry with the referee for calling off the game. They felt the conditions of their game (away to Crusaders) on Tuesday night Worse than Saturday.
“We only had access to the information that was communicated to us in the office, we were not there. When the referee arrived he made the decision and we objected to it.”
Lawler apologized for postponing the game on The X on Sunday and spoke out on Monday, admitting the league’s management of the situation had been “counterproductive.”
The NIFL has yet to confirm details of the six-game rescheduled schedule.
