It was the best of nights, it was the worst of nights.
The SSE Airtricity League went into it’s mid season break on Friday with Cork City beating Dundalk in front of a vibrant home crowd to set up another great second half to the title race.
Along the coast in Waterford though it was a different matter with Athlone Town unable to fulfil a fixture against the local side in an escalating dispute over late payment of wages and expenses.
The FAI would have hoped to be able too bask in the glow of the Euro’s over the coming weeks but this has created a cloud over the domestic game that will have to be dealt with quickly.
The FAI issued a statement yesterday which outlined the steps that are being taken to resolve the issues and end uncertainty over whether the club will survive.
“The Football Association of Ireland has ordered an independent interim review of Athlone Town FC after a meeting between SSE Airticity League director Fran Gavin, league chairman Eamon Naughton and representatives of the club, after its failure to fulfil their fixture versus Waterford United,” the statement read.
“The board of the Football Association of Ireland will appoint an independent person to meet with all of the relevant stakeholders of Athlone Town FC, including the chairman, board members, management and players, as well as supporters’ groups and potential investors, to discuss recent issues and the long-term future of the club.”
“Once the independent interim review is complete, the findings will be presented to the FAI.”
