No European football a 'kick in the teeth' for Drogheda fans
Fans of Drogheda United have described the club's expulsion from European football as a "kick in the teeth".The Irish Premier Division club was expelled from the 2025-26 Uefa Conference League under a rule which states two clubs in the same competition cannot be under the same ownership.US-based multi-club football organisation also own Danish side Silkeborg who also qualified for the competition. Drogheda United's appeal against the dismissal was rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) on Monday.
'It's a farce'
Fan Dave Carabini said he is "deflated, numb and frustrated" by the announcement on Monday."It's a farce," Mr Carabini said.Drogheda faced Shamrock Rovers on Monday night, hours after the announcement by Cas but this did little to dampen the mood. Mr Carabini said he had "never seen the ground rocking so much"."We will back the team no matter what."
Jake Davies described Monday as a "very sad day" but support shown at the game made him "proud to be a Drogheda fan". Mr Davies added that the decision left him "shocked"."I had never been to a European game with Drogheda before," he said."We need to start thinking about multi-club ownership and next year we have to be prepared."Mr Davies said the owners of the club have done a lot of good for the club, but he "doesn't understand why they would buy Silkeborg".
'European nights are what everyone dreams about'
Eoin Reid said he was "absolutely sickened" by Monday's announcement. "Europeans nights are what everyone dreams about."Mr Reid said that the feeling in the town is "mixed"."There was a weird, electric atmosphere around the town on Monday. People didn't really want to talk."But he added that when it came to the match the fans got behind the team.
Local football reporter, Barry Landy said it had been "a funny couple of weeks". "There has not been to much anger from fans at the owners, but more a sense of defiance with anti-Uefa and anti-FAI chants at the game against Shamrock Rovers."Fans are standing strong."He added that the owners have been "fairly transparent".Mr Landy added that Drogheda are a club "on the up" but there is a "mood of deflation".
Why were Drogheda expelled from Europe?
Uefa rules mean the lower-ranked team, in this case Drogheda, are excluded from the competition.Drogheda qualified after winning the FAI Cup in November 2024 as a semi-professional side. However, Silkeborg's seventh-place finish in the Danish league outweighs Drogheda's ninth place in the League of Ireland Premier Division.Trivela bought Silkeborg shortly after Drogheda's FAI Cup triumph.
In a statement, Drogheda expressed their "great heartbreak and disbelief" at the Cas decision."We strongly disagree with this decision, and had hoped and believed that the principles of fairness and common sense would prevail," the club said."After months of engagement, constructive dialogue, countless hours of legal preparation, and multiple proposals based on frameworks that have been accepted in the past, we have come up short."Despite genuine and vocal support across the football world, the ruling did not fall in our favour. We are heartbroken by the outcome."Uefa advanced its assessment date to 1 March rather than June, but the Cas panel found that this change had been properly communicated by Uefa and that Drogheda ought to have known about it.A majority of the panel also rejected Drogheda's submissions on alleged unequal treatment by Uefa.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
8 minutes ago
- BBC News
Could European schedule impact Hibs' league start?
We asked for your views on Hibs' Scottish Premiership fixtures and how they will be faring after 10 what some of you said:Keith: We could realistically get four wins from our first four games. A good start this season is a I think we will only lose one game out of our first ten, that is obviously Celtic away. A draw with Rangers and Aberdeen and the rest wins, but in the SPFL anything can The first five games we should be looking to win them, but in order to do that we need to see the defence and midfield strengthened. We can't afford the start we had last year. A centre-forward is a A lot may depend on how many European games we have, but after 10 games I'd hope we are third or fourth and looking to narrow the gap to those above us heading into the winter.
BBC News
8 minutes ago
- BBC News
Top-six finish for Martindale's Livingston?
We asked for your views on Livingston's Scottish Premiership fixtures and how they will be faring after 10 what some of you said:Paul: I believe Livingston will hit the ground running this season. I expect us to pick up points against Kilmarnock and Falkirk to start things off. We'll likely lose at Parkhead, but there's a good chance we could get something from the Hearts game at home. By October, I'd say we'll be sitting Top-six finish, no problem.
BBC News
8 minutes ago
- BBC News
'Hard to predict' Kilmarnock's season amid summer of change
We asked for your views on Kilmarnock's Scottish Premiership fixtures and how they will be faring after 10 what some of you said:Robert: At least we don't have the Old Firm in the first couple of games. Really hard to say how Killie will do as no-one has seen this team play under the new manager. Just hope we beat Hearts four times this A solid start to the Premiership and League Cup groups, sitting between fifth and seventh playing with a definable After 10 games I am hoping Kilmarnock will be sitting eighth or ninth to be honest as that is a tough run of games to begin with. The team will have to gel quickly to make its mark and battle for points. Hopefully the new signings will help us fill the voids of those who had left. The use of the youth team players could help as they need to see some game time as well. David Watson will be out main focal point in midfield this year and well I have no idea where we will be after 10 games. New manager with a lot of changes to the squad. Bit worried about whether the new signings will live up to Stuart Kettlewell's expectationsGarry: A nice run of fixtures. Don't need to worry about Celtic until 13 September at home and then Rangers away at the end of October. Hopefully we can see improvement and be mid-table by the end of the first group of games.
