Shelbourne manager Dermot Keely this afternoon reacted with fury to today's decision to give St. Patrick's Athletic back the nine points deducted for fielding an ineligible player, saying it is "nothing short of a scandal."
Mr Liam Reidy SC, chairman of Kilkenny City and chosen by the FAI as an independent arbitrator, overturned the points deduction, imposing a 1200 Euro fine instead, on the grounds that St. Patrick's had not breached the spirit of the rules.
Shelbourne side now slip from first to second in the table, two points behind St. Pat's.
"It's an absolutely amazing decision," said Keely, eager to point out he was speaking on his own behalf and not necessarily reflecting the club's official view, "There's absolutely no such thing as 'spirit of the rules'. Why do they bother putting rules in their book? It's absurd, nothing short of a scandal."
"I tell you, there's a lot of people who constantly whinge that the League is run by Shels, but this decision proves that there's one rule for Pats and another for the rest of us."
Keely is already in hot water with the League authorities after comments he made earlier in the season about corruption within the domestic game. He is due to appear before the Rules Compliance Commission later this month to explain those comments, but this afternoon he insisted he has no intention of attending.
"Hell will freeze over before I appear in front of their Rules Compliance Commission now, because they’ve just abandoned the rule book so what have I got to answer to? That Commission is tainted."
Keely only returned full-time to his office in Tolka Park this morning after taking two months off for health reasons, but he says he has no qualms about heading on to a collision with league authorities if that’s where his opinions take him.
"This is my first full day back, and it's no secret I stepped back for while because the pressure of was getting to me. The time off was great. Nobody should think I'm afraid of walking away from football."