Northern Ireland Football League [NIFL] CEO Gerard Lawlor insists “there were no deals done with anybody” to ensure last week’s extraordinary general meeting [EGM] took place to prevent a delay to the start of the new season.
With local football’s pyramid undergoing some changes for the new campaign, the Premier Intermediate League [PIL] – formerly NIFL’s third tier – is replaced by a new Conference League which is organised by the Northern Amateur Football Division [NAFL].
Banbridge Town – one of 10 clubs moved to the Conference League from the PIL – had a challenge to Irish FA’s appeals committee regarding the move upheld, claiming NIFL had not followed its own regulations by not previously securing approval from member clubs at an annual general meeting [AGM] or EGM to bring its annual regulations into operation.
This ensured an EGM was required which 90% of NIFL’s 47 members had to consent to in order to pass three proposals to be approved to ensure no delay to the new season and while there were early fears this target would not be met, the threshold was met and all motions were passed.
“We lost an appeal. I don’t think it’s the first we’ve lost and unfortunately it won’t be the last, but the timing couldn’t have come at a worse time,” Lawlor told BBC Radio Ulster’s Sportsound prior to Saturday’s afternoon kick-offs.
“I apologise and hold my hands up, but we turned the situation around and there were no deals done with anybody.
“At one stage, the optimism of a new season was at risk and that was the down side.
“Other people were being opportunistic to try and get something out of a bad situation, but I had to concentrate on the good of football.”
Despite the outside fears the new Irish League season would be delayed, Lawlor “was always confident we would be playing football this afternoon [Saturday]” but accepts there are lessons to be learned from the situation.
“The NIFL board will sit down and look at an independent review into what took place and what went wrong,” he continued.
“That will be honest, robust, will involve our members and we will do everything humanly possible to make sure there is no repeat in the future.”
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