STEPHEN KENNY SAYS it is “insane” that St Patrick’s Athletic must play their Premier Division game with Dundalk this Sunday, in between the club’s historic Uefa Conference League play-off with Istanbul Basaksehir.
The League of Ireland club submitted a request to the FAI for their trip to Oriel Park to be re-arranged given the significance of their European commitments.
St Pat’s face the Turkish giants at Tallaght Stadium on Thursday (7.45pm) before the return leg in Istanbul at 5pm the following Wednesday. That clash was moved forward by 24 hours for security reason as Besiktas are in Europa League action on Thursday, 29 August.
However, the Saints were informed by the FAI that they must fulfill the domestic fixture on Sunday.
“This is one of the biggest games in St Patrick’s Athletic’s history, the opportunity to get to the group stages [of the Conference League]. Two games in five-and-a-half days is tight enough but the fact we’ve actually had a third game inserted into the middle of that against Dundalk in Oriel Park on Sunday is insane, really,” Kenny said.
“To expect the players to put in the greatest performance of their lives against Basaksehir in Turkey on Wednesday, having already played two games in such a short period, is hard to fathom really. We’re trying to maxamise our performance and to outperform ourselves.
“Our opponents won the Turkish league a couple of years ago, they were in the Champions League group stages and beat Manchester United. They’ve had some good results so for us to beat them over two legs, we’ll need the performance of our lives — to have a league game put in the middle, to have three [games] in five-and-a-half days, makes it extremely difficult.”
Kenny referenced how the IFA have amended four domestic fixtures for Larne as they also compete in the Conference play-offs against Lincoln Red Imps, and also stressed that the onus should be on the FAI to act rather than clubs.
“That’s advantageous, it gives you an opportunity. You’re tryng to peak and outperform yourself not just get through a game. The players can get through games in that period but not play to a level that they need to in order to win. That’s the point.
“Any of the league clubs, I understand their point of view, they all have their own seasons to fight for, whether that’s a club pushing for Europe or fighting relegation. You can’t blame any other club, it’s not a question of that,” the Dubliner said.
“You’re looking for a decision from the FAI to sort of give you a real opportunity because the provision is there to do that but they’ve chosen not to do that. That’s one thing we’ve just got to get on with and we will get on with it.”
Section 23.8 of the Participation Agreement, which clubs must adhere to, states the following in relation to League fixtures: “The League Director shall have the power to postpone any fixture(s) on giving a minimum of twenty-four (24) hours’ notice to the relevant Participant Clubs should it be deemed to be in the best interests of the League / FAI. The reason for such a decision will be outlined in email to the relevant Participant Clubs.”
The FAI have been contacted for comment.
