Irish League Champions Relegated...

[Hobo]

Eircom League champions Shelbourne have been relegated to the First Division for the coming season after an investigation by the FAI's first instance committee.

The licencing committee had been investigating the club's finances after they failed to pay 17 players wages owed to them from the end of the season.

In a statement the FAI confirmed: 'The Independent Committee had sought information from Shelbourne and following extensions to that date at the request of the club, the Committee met again this evening to consider the status of their licence.

'The Committee decided to withdraw the club's Premier division licence and to award Shelbourne a first division licence, with conditions.'

The troubled Dublin club have five days in which to appeal the decision.

I love this, the champions of Irish football/soccer whatever you want to call it relegated. Internationally we suck ass and domesticly they've been trying to improve things and one of the biggest clubs is looking like it might just collapse. They've tried to bring in a new league system for next season but it seems to be all up in the air, they have to shuffle the league around again now (Dublin City went bankrupt during last season and Limerick failed to get a liscence this year but they've been replaced by a new Limerick side in the first division).

If only life was like FM and the Ericom League wasn't as shit!

Edited February 20, 2007 by The Lonesome Hobo

[ONO]

Fucking hell. I never heard about that, looks like Cork will dominate. =[

[lari]

Have they not ever heard of a player budget and staying within it?

[King Ellis]

So that black hole of a bank account I complain about on FM is realistic. Sucks for them.

[Hobo]

Fucking hell. I never heard about that, looks like Cork will dominate. =[

I'm going to say either Derry or Drogheda (the only one of the big clubs who haven't lost anything recently), Cork have lost a lot of good players and at a strech Bohemians (who by all accounts are the Chelsea of Ireland now since they're moving to a new stadium and appear to have doubled there budget from last season for spending).

Shelbourne, Drogheda and Bohemians are Ireland's only professional teams and so far being fully pro hasn't worked out because there isn't that much interest in the Eircom League to generate the profits professional clubs need. Shels are in crisis and might not even be pro much longer. Bohs are safe cause they've gotten money recently and Drogheda, seem to be doing well too.