Latest news with #Drogheda
Irish Examiner
26 minutes ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Early goal gets Drogs victory over Sligo
SSE Airtricity Premier Division: Drogheda United 1 Sligo Rovers 0 If there were question marks about how Drogheda United's exit from European competition might affect Kevin Doherty's players, those have emphatically been answered. A good showing against Shamrock Rovers last Monday did not result in points. Four days on and despite constant Sligo Rovers pressure throughout, they did the job. Douglas-James Taylor scored the winner. As expected, Drogheda owner and co-chairman Ben Boycott was present at the game. He addressed Kevin Doherty and his players in light of their UEFA Conference League expulsion. The Trivela Group CEO was also seen speaking to supporters prior to kick-off, likely offering apologies and assurances in equal measure. Drogheda had won all three of Sligo's most trips to Boyneside, by an aggregate score of 13-1. It took them only three minutes to extend their eye-catching statistic further, with James-Taylor hitting the net. Warren Davis robbed Jad Hakiki of the ball in the centre circle and he raced towards goal before feeding strike-partner James-Taylor. The Walsall loanee – in what may have been his last home game as a Drogs player – blasted a shot past Sam Sargeant. There are usually plenty of goals when these sides meet and while that goal was not added to in the first half, it was not for a lack of effort on either side. Conor Kane smashed a shot against the corner of bar and upright and before that Andy Quinn and Warren Davis shot over the bar. The latter, certainly, should have done better. Luke Dennison was called into action multiple times to deny an impressive Sligo an equaliser that they warranted in truth. He saved at his near post from Wilson Waweru and then Owen Elding before he scooped Will Fitzgerald's shot over the bar after the restart. It was a confident performance from John Russell's team, in an attacking sense, but there were familiar failings at the back. Only misfortune and misfires kept the deficit at one goal. The Bit O'Red were culpable at the other end too especially when Jad Hakiki shot wide with the goal at his mercy in the 64th minute and then substitute Cian Kavanagh headed wide soon after. DROGHEDA UNITED: Dennison; Cooper, Keeley, Quinn; Cruise (Markey, 46), Heeney, Farrell, Kane; Brennan; James-Taylor, Davis (Oluwa, 79). SLIGO ROVERS: Sargeant; Reynolds, McElroy (McDonagh, 35), Mahon, Hutchinson; Doyle-Hayes, Mallon (Van Hattum, 69); Elding, Hakiki (Lomboto, 83), Fitzgerald; Waweru (Kavanagh, 69).
Irish Daily Mirror
12 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
FAI urged to shut its door to UEFA over treatment of Drogheda United
It is terrible the way Drogheda United have been treated by UEFA. And it is time for the Drogs of War to go into battle because sporting success should always be determined by what happens on the pitch. While UEFA changed the rules for those who are part of multi-club ownership models, the whole thing still feels bizarre. That is why Monday was such a shocking day for Drogheda when it became clear the club had lost its appeal to the Court of Arbitration and Sport - meaning they would be unable to play in this season's UEFA Conference League. Read more: Drogheda United co-chairman says owners will stump up cash to cover Conference League exit Read more: Jack Grealish's true colours shown amid Man City transfer speculation If that was bad, things would then get even worse on Monday night. Despite taking the lead against Shamrock Rovers, they were then pinned back by a free kick scored by Graham Burke just before half-time before losing 2-1 via Aaron Greene's winner. And that made it a Black Monday that Drogheda are unlikely to ever forget. Of course there is nothing wrong with UEFA looking at multi club ownership and demanding sporting integrity. Nobody would want games taking place in sporting competition where two clubs owned by the same people could potentially be giving direction as to who should win. But there was no danger of such a scenario unfolding with Drogheda United. And that is why Drogheda United co-chairman Ben Boycott was right to state that his club was made an example of. Trivela, who now own Drogheda as well as Danish side Silkeborg, have put forward many potential solutions to ensure fair play would prevail. I believe Drogheda are spot-on to say the UEFA process has 'lacked consistency, clarity and fairness'. Multi-club ownership exists all the way through the world of football. According to a UEFA statement in March, 342 clubs are currently part of Multi-Club Ownership. In English football, 16 clubs in the Premier League, 10 in the Championship, 13 in League Two are involved in clubs with ownership involvement from the same people. Just look at Manchester City. They are a majority owned club by some of the richest people in Abu Dhabi. The City football group owns stakes in clubs in the UK, USA, Australia, India, Japan, Spain, Brazil, Uruguay, Belgium, China, Italy and Turkey. And there is no doubt if Drogheda United was part of the City global group then there is no way UEFA would have gone to war with the Drogs. That is why this week's events ask serious questions of the FAI. It is their licensing process that has allowed the Trivela Group to be majority owners of Drogheda need to understand what an absolute disaster this was for both Drogheda United and Irish football. Can you imagine if those in charge at Abbotstown made it clear to the top brass of UEFA that if they made an example of any Irish club - then the FAI would call in their own Drogs of War. Had they made it clear that the FAI and Irish football would never lie down and be bullied by the inconsistencies of UEFA, they would have made a massive statement. Anyone looking at this case will be able to see that Drogheda were treated very differently to any other club. And the fact they have been made an example of is something the FAI should never, ever accept. I demand that those in charge at Abbotstown come out now and fight against this injustice. The FAI must make it very clear to UEFA that unless a remedy is found to Drogheda's situation then the two bodies will be at war. That doesn't mean firing guns. But it does mean the FAI telling UEFA they are no longer welcome in Ireland. The FAI should shut the door on UEFA and make it clear no one from their organisation is welcome on these shores. If they do this, the FAI will win respect. If they don't, they will never be respected again.
The 42
2 days ago
- Business
- The 42
Drogheda debacle has many fathers, but Uefa are more culpable than all
DROGHEDA UNITED' EXCLUSION from Europe is a dispiriting fact not because they didn't play by the rules, but because they did not follow a Uefa-designed loophole at Uefa's behest. It's easy to lose a grip on the story amid its blizzard of finicky detail, so stick with us for a moment. Drogs are part of a multi-club organisation owned by an American investment fund named the Trivela Group, who first moved into football with a purchase of English club Wallsall in 2022. They acquired Drogheda in February last year, and added Danish club Silkeborg to the portfolio in December last year. They also control a club in Togo. Uefa don't allow clubs controlled by the same ownership group to compete in the same competition, citing integrity concerns, and so we could sound the Danger Here klaxon when Silkeborg joined Drogheda in the Conference League qualifiers at the start of June. To ensure both of their clubs could compete, Trivela needed to follow precedent in transferring its ownership of one of the clubs to a blind trust, which would reassure Uefa they would not be dictating sporting matters at both clubs at the same time. This precedent was set last year, when the owners of Man City and Man United were allowed to transfer Girona and Nice respectively into a blind trust, to allow all four clubs compete in their Uefa competitions. They were allowed to do this in June last year, whereas this year Uefa brought the deadline forward to 1 March. Trivela missed the March deadline, and so went to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to argue they should be given dispensation to do the blind trust business this week, in advance of the draw. CAS ruled that Trivela ought to have known the deadline, as it had been properly communicated by Uefa in October last year. Given Drogheda finished lower in their league than Silkeborg, it is they who miss out, and the bigger Danish club are allowed to compete. The story is chiefly a travesty for Kevin Doherty and his players, many of whom will have made career decisions around the expectation that Drogheda would be competing in Europe. The club, meanwhile, have lost out on at least €500,000 in prize money and the league as a whole will now have one club fewer fighting for co-efficient ranking points. (The damage will be somewhat limited by the fact the co-efficient total will be divided by the three competing clubs, rather than four, as was to be the case if Drogheda had been competing.) And, as ever, the fans are probably the biggest losers of all, who have had their European trip taken away from them. If you want to play the blame game, then it's a target rich environment. The FAI insist they flagged concerns with Trivela last November, and while they might have done more to repeat these concerns and urge rival clubs to apply for a European licence in case Drogheda missed out, to turn this into another FAI screw-up story is OTT. Rules cannot be enforced without the principle that those involved have a responsibility to know all of those rules, and if the League of Ireland wants to be taken more seriously, the errors of clubs cannot automatically be pinned on the FAI, just as the Association can't take all the credit for clubs' many recent achievements. No, this is an almighty balls-up by the Trivela Group. They had one club in Europe and bought another presumably with the ambition to qualify for Europe, so they should have known the rules and acted to comply. But take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Advertisement The blind trust business is a legal means of satisfying the obvious sporting integrity issues thrown up by multi-club ownership. These concerns were established ahead of the 1998/99, when two Joe Lewis' owned clubs, Slavia Prague and AEK Athens, qualified for the Uefa Cup. Uefa and then CAS barred the lower-ranked AEK, given the possibility for a conflict of interest were they paired together. CAS pointed to one hypothetical: what if both sides were paired together in a group phase and were incentivised to draw their game? In that instance, the owner would have the power to award the players a bigger bonus for drawing the game than winning. But having acknowledged the many potential issues with multi-club ownership, Uefa did not outlaw it. Instead they found a regulatory means of making it acceptable. The proximity of relationship between Red Bull clubs Leipzig and Salzburg was summed up in 2016 when a Salzburg defender, Andreas Ulmer, accidentally wore a Leipzig shirt during the second half of a Champions League qualification match against FK Liepaja. Uefa initially banned Leipzig when both qualified for the Champions League in 2017, but both clubs were allowed to compete on appeal, once the clubs agreed to limit player trading and Salzburg fiddled about with a few bits and pieces – including their branding and board composition – to the point they could satisfy Uefa that Red Bull were merely sponsors, rather than owners. Multi-club ownership then exploded: a 2022 Uefa report said it had risen by more than 400% across Europe in the space of a decade. Uefa are now trying to sift through the wreckage sprung forth from Pandora's Box. The latest workaround has been the blind trust, piloted by the owners of City and United last year. Both clubs' owners transferred their shares in their secondary clubs, Girona and Nice, to an independent trustee who is overseen by Uefa, while promising not to trade players or share coaching or scouting intel. (City were still allowed to sign Girona star Savinho, who had been on loan the previous season from French club Troyes, whom the City Football Group also own.) Uefa demand that nobody in a multi-club network is in a position to influence the sporting decisions made at more than one club at any one time. That said, the blind trust is a temporary thing, and both Girona and Nice will revert to their old ownership structure on 1 July. So while owners can't in theory exercise control over sporting decisions at two clubs during the season, they are free to do so in advance of that season. While the blind trust complies with Uefa's rules the optics offer a different impression entirely. Evangelos Marinakis, for instance, put his Nottingham Forest shares into a blind trust earlier this year, in order to avoid a potential European conflict with another of his clubs, Olympiakos. He remained a very visible presence during the season run-in, however, infamously storming onto the pitch at the City Ground in May. (Gary Neville, heavily critical of Marinakis' intervention, found himself banned from Forest's stadium for the season's final game.) But Marinakis has satisfied Uefa's rules. Drogheda's owners must take responsibility for their feckless, costly error, though they made one with regard to a rule which ultimately legitimises multi-club ownership. Such is its prevalence now, Uefa can only mitigate against its impacts: it's another malign trend in the sport that moved fast to break things and become too unwieldy to rein in. It is, after all, an easy solution to the original sin of professional football: vast financial inequity. Uefa did initially ban the Red Bull clubs, but their workaround was heavily influenced by the EU's principle of free movement of people, goods, and services. Block a club from the Champions League and a club may successfully argue that Uefa are violating that principle. And were Uefa to lose that, they could lose their right to organise all of European football. This is what the vestigial Super League clubs have argued, with Uefa fighting back by arguing that sport has a special status enshrined within the EU's founding treaty, one that would render moot these anti-competitive arguments. Uefa, though, have been much too slow in finding their voice on this special status, and have been guilty of a terrible paralysis in the face of multi-club owners. Hence they are reduced to enforcing rules like that under which Drogheda have been condemned. It has been a brutal defeat for Drogheda United, but the game as a whole is suffering more than anyone wishes to acknowledge. This is a sport full of rules but missing proper governance and, above all, leadership.
Irish Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Business
- Irish Daily Mirror
Drogs chairman says owners will stump up cash to cover Conference League exit
Drogheda United co-chairman Ben Boycott has confirmed that the club's owners Trivela will stump up €525,000 to offset the financial loss of being kicked out of the UEFA Conference League. In an open letter to fans of the Louth club, Boycott also accused UEFA of lacking "consistency, clarity, and fairness" in their treatment of the club. Drogheda earned a place in the Conference League by winning last season's FAI Cup. But Kevin Doherty's side was disqualified from the competition after Danish club Silkeborg, who came under Trivela ownership shortly after Drogheda's cup triumph, also qualified for the Conference League through their league finish two weeks ago. Now, after the Drogs had an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected on Monday, their chairman has hit out at UEFA. Boycott wrote: "Let me say first: I absolutely respect UEFA's aim to uphold sporting integrity in European competitions. "But I believe - strongly- that the way this year's rule changes around multi-club ownership (MCO) were introduced and enforced has unintended negative consequences to that goal. I believe that the process has lacked consistency, clarity, and fairness. And Drogheda United is paying the price." Boycott says Trivela have agreed to pump €520,000 into the club, the minimum prize money Kevin Doherty's side would have received for competing in the Conference League. He said: "Trivela will cover the shortfall in revenue from missing Europe, and we are fully committed to seeing this project through. 'Day-to-day operations are unaffected. I will be meeting personally with our players and staff in the coming days, and I hope that we as a group can remain focused on the task at hand.' But Boycott believes that UEFA did not treat Drogheda with the same level of attention or respect as other clubs in similar situations. He said: 'It seems that some of those that were contacted and began taking steps before this deadline were then given time to implement structures after the deadline. 'We were not ever contacted directly, and Drogheda was not afforded that same flexibility. 'Worse still, historical precedent gave us every reason to believe that we would have a path to resolve any concerns post-assessment date. 'In recent years, multiple clubs have enacted share transfers, blind trust structures, and other remedies after the assessment date. 'Those precedents shaped our expectations—and we acted accordingly. 'I personally believe this decision makes an example of Drogheda so that UEFA can signal a change of approach to its regulation of MCOs (multi-club ownerships) 'It punishes a club that, just a year ago, was still part-time and operating without a CEO. 'It punishes a community-focused organization run with integrity, ambition, and limited resources—while major clubs with compliance departments and vast legal teams were granted direct communication and additional time to comply. 'That said, accountability ultimately falls on us at DUFC and at Trivela Group. 'The responsibility to navigate regulations—however murky or fast-changing—belongs to our leadership. 'And for that, I offer a personal, sincere apology to our players, staff, and supporters. This will never happen again.'
Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
Trivela Group to cover financial shortfall following Drogheda's omission from European competition
Within the letter, Boycott noted that the club had been made an "example of" by UEFA, while also detailing plans to secure land for a new stadium. The club have submitted documents to Louth County Council to secure land for a potential new home. Drogheda won the FAI Cup in November, the same month Trivela acquired Danish outfit Silkeborg. Given Trivela holds the full 100% stake in Drogs and 80% shareholding in Silkeborg, Uefa decreed that the higher finisher in their league, the Danes, remained in this week's draw. The basis of the Drogs appeal against their expulsion to the last resort in Switzerland centred on alleged communication failures around changed dates in clubs restructuring to comply with multi-club regulations. The verdict of the three-person CAS panel, which went against them 2-1: 'We conclude that Drogheda knew, or ought to have known, about the change. An Operative Decision was taken by the majority of the panel to dismiss the appeal.' Up to this year, multi-club motherships had until June 1 to restructure in order to comply with regulations, allowing outfits such as Aston Villa, Manchester United and Manchester City to avoid complications for sister clubs - this deadline was then changed to March. Uefa informed all 55 member associations, including the FAI, of the new date as far back as last October. Boycott's open letter read, in full: To the Directors, Staff, Players, and Supporters of Drogheda United Football Club. There have been several drafts of this statement—with wise words and good counsel from lawyers, PR teams, and trusted advisors. But I've set them all aside. This one is just from me. Monday was one of the most frustrating days of my professional career. The split decision by the Court for Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to uphold UEFA's ban on Drogheda United's participation in the 2025–26 UEFA Conference League was a devastating blow, and one which I disagree with. It concluded a months-long, all-hands effort involving countless hours of work by people who care deeply about this club. Let me say first: I absolutely respect UEFA's aim to uphold sporting integrity in European competitions. But I believe—strongly—that the way this year's rule changes around multi-club ownership (MCO) were introduced and enforced has unintended negative consequences to that goal. I believe that the process has lacked consistency, clarity, and fairness. And Drogheda United is paying the price. What Happened There is and will be much talk about a missed deadline. I submit to you that the truth is much more nuanced and complicated than DUFC failing to file some paperwork on time. The issue at hand is that, according to UEFA, Trivela should have taken meaningful steps to fully separate from Drogheda United—through a share sale or transfer of control—in February, months before there was any certainty that Silkeborg IF would qualify for Europe, and in the midst of major off-field transitions for Drogheda. That was a busy and critical time for this club. We were transitioning to full-time football. We were securing a new long-term training ground. We were preparing for a brand new LOI season, and completing important and significant stadium upgrades, such as the 12th Man Lounge. Silkeborg were in and around the middle of the table in Denmark while we were doing all of this work at DUFC – over three months before SIF would ultimately become the final team to qualify for Europe. The core regulatory issue hinges on the 'Assessment Date' used by UEFA and the Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) to evaluate the eligibility of clubs in MCOs. In all previous seasons, this date fell in early June—after domestic seasons had concluded. That timing gave clubs and groups the opportunity to react to final standings and take necessary steps. This year, for the first time ever, that date was moved up to March 1st. Notification of the coming change was shared in one piece of communication – a circular letter which UEFA sent to national associations in October 2024. After that, the full rules for the 2025-26 season, including the new assessment date, were not fully adopted until February 26th, 2025—just two days before the new assessment date took effect, and it appears were not made publicly available until March 1st. I believe that this very limited communication around a significant rule change created a meaningful blind spot. It appears that other MCO groups were proactively contacted by UEFA in December and January regarding these rule changes. Further, it seems that some of those that were contacted and began taking steps before this deadline were then given time to implement structures after the deadline. We were not ever contacted directly, and Drogheda was not afforded that same flexibility. Regardless of how it happened – the reality is that larger and more resourced clubs had much more information and opportunity than DUFC did. That's a system that puts clubs and groups like ours at a disadvantage. Worse still, historical precedent gave us every reason to believe that we would have a path to resolve any concerns post-assessment date. In recent years, multiple clubs have enacted share transfers, blind trust structures, and other remedies after the assessment date. Those precedents shaped our expectations—and we acted accordingly. The moment it became clear to us that this cycle would be different – months ago, at this point – we engaged directly with UEFA. Over those months, we offered multiple remedies: a share transfer back to the Drogheda United Members Club, placement of shares into an Irish trust, and participation in a UK-based UEFA-approved templatized blind trust structure. We were turned away at every step. The end result is that CAS has now ruled, on a 2–1 split decision, that UEFA was within its rights to enforce the rule this way. Perhaps this is the case – but it remains the fact that DUFC faced a severe disadvantage relative to other clubs. Moving Forward I personally believe this decision makes an example of Drogheda so that UEFA can signal a change of approach to its regulation of MCOs. It punishes a club that, just a year ago, was still part-time and operating without a CEO. It punishes a community-focused organization run with integrity, ambition, and limited resources—while major clubs with compliance departments and vast legal teams were granted direct communication and additional time to comply. That disparity, however inadvertent, should not exist in European football. But it does. That said, accountability ultimately falls on us at DUFC and at Trivela Group. The responsibility to navigate regulations—however murky or fast-changing—belongs to our leadership. There was no malice and no bad faith. We have always endeavored to work in the best interests of the club and the community. But we now know that wasn't enough. And ultimate responsibility for our various teams and staff working on these issues rolls up to me. And for that, I offer a personal, sincere apology to our players, staff, and supporters. This will never happen again. But let me be equally clear: this setback will not define Drogheda United's future. We care deeply about this club and this town, and we are committed to its long-term success. The club remains on sound footing. Trivela will cover the shortfall in revenue from missing Europe, and we are fully committed to seeing this project through. Day-to-day operations are unaffected. I will be meeting personally with our players and staff in the coming days, and I hope that we as a group can remain focused on the task at hand. Our FAI Cup title defense begins in July. And we have great potential to qualify for Europe again via the League of Ireland campaign. The future remains bright. We've now submitted documents to Louth County Council to pursue securing the land for our new stadium—one of the most significant steps in this club's history. That work continues, uninterrupted. Drogheda United is no stranger to adversity. We've been written off, knocked down, and counted out before. We've come back every time. This time will be no different. We are hurt, but we are not done. The path ahead remains the same. This club is still going somewhere special. And nothing—not even this—will stop us. With grief and resolve, – BB
