Calliaqua Football League ends on sour note

The 2012 Hairoun Beer Calliaqua Area Development Organisation (CADO) Calliaqua Football League ended on a sour note Friday at the Calliaqua Playing Field, with the title being determined by the default route.{{more}}

The melee stemmed from the final between perennial champions Prospect United and Brighton, which began on Thursday at the same venue and ended in a 1-1 tie.

Bad light prevented the kicks from the penalty spot, which would have determined the winner, and the outcome was ordered to be completed the following day, Friday, from 4:45 p.m.

However, when the kicks from the penalty spot were ordered on Friday at 5:28 p.m. by referee McNeil Morgan, only the Prospect team was in attendance.

Manager and coach of the Brighton All Stars team Osbourne Bowens confirmed to SEARCHLIGHT at the Calliaqua Playing Field on Friday that his team had taken a principled stance not to take any further part in the conclusion of the final, thus forfeiting the match.

Bowens said that when Morgan summoned both teams to the penalty spot at the end of regulation time on Thursday, his players were willing to complete the match then, but the opposing team, Prospect was refusing to do so.

“… the Prospect team decided they were not going to kick the penalties … My team was ready and on the field … The referee made his decision and at that time the penalties could have been kicked,” Bowens stated.

Bowens said that a discussion that ensued over the taking of the kicks from the penalty spot was prolonged, which left the venue in almost darkness; then it became virtually impossible for the kicks to be taken.

“The organizer of the competition decided with the management of Prospect that Brighton would have to come back and kick the penalties … My players, most of them are working guys and got the time off yesterday, and could not get a second consecutive time off,” Bowens reasoned.

“All in all, I am satisfied with the performance of my team; we did not lose the league… Prospect won the league by default”, Bowens added.

Bowens also said it was a sad end to the final, as the match saw four assistant referees being used.

Meanwhile, referee Mc Neil Morgan confirmed to SEARCHLIGHT that the match was indeed cut short in the second half as the light was fading.

Morgan said that the first half was played for 40 minutes and the second half, 25.

Morgan said that Foster Hannibald, the main organizer of the competition, instructed him to go straight to the kicks from the penalty spot, instead of playing any extra time.

Morgan said both teams refused to take the kicks, but admitted that this was after there was contention about the end from which the kicks should have been taken. He said that after the deliberations, the light had faded badly.

“It was unfortunate, as it meant a dull end to the championships for 2012, because Calliaqua has one of the most vibrant football competitions in the country and to end like that it is really sad,” Morgan, who is also the public relations officer for CADO, added.

The Calliaqua Football League was founded in 1980. (RT)