Umpires resolve row with Rovers

HOCKEY/Leinster Senior League:Three Rock Rovers and Trinity will be pleased to know their Leinster Senior League match at Grange Road tomorrow will be officiated by Leinster Hockey Umpires Association (LHUA) members.

This will be the first match for a number of weeks to which Leinster umpires have been appointed after the withdrawal of services to Rovers following what they considered to be an abusive letter sent to them by a parent of one of the players.

For a few weeks now there had been a Mexican stand-off. The umpires were seeking an apology from Rovers but what they initially got was a letter littered with phrases and words such as "hereafter" and "third party". Clearly written by a legal hand, it wasn't quite what the umpires were looking for.

Rovers, however, felt a letter written by one of their players' parents was essentially none of the club's business. While they certainly don't encourage members to engage in such activities, neither could they stop individuals from writing letters.

Essentially, the club wanted to resolve the issue amicably and return to the status quo. With the whiff of legal action in the air from one side, that further complicated matters.

But this week's release to the press on the matter was concise and final. The behind-the-scenes work has been completed. The umpires are back on board and Rovers are no longer black-balled.

"The Leinster Branch of the Irish Hockey Association and the Leinster Hockey Umpires Association are pleased to announce that the matter relating to the withdrawal of umpiring services from Three Rock Rovers Hockey Club has been successfully resolved to the satisfaction of all parties," said the statement.

FIXTURES: Saturday - Leinster Senior League Division One - Corinthians v YMCA, 1.15pm, Whitechurch Park; Fingal v Bray, 1:30pm, ALSAA; Railway Union v Monkstown, 3pm, Park Avenue; TRR v Dublin University, 1.30pm, Grange Road.

Sunday - Leinster Senior League: Division One - Pembroke v Glenanne, 2.30pm, Serpentine Avenue; YMCA v Monkstown, 3pm, Claremont Road. Division Two - Avoca v Skerries, 2.45pm, Newpark; Weston v Naas, 2pm, King's Hospital; PSBPP v Clontarf, 1pm, DCU; Suttonians v Kilkenny, 1.30pm, Sutton Park School; UCD v Navan, 12.45pm, Belfield.