The Irish Hockey League (IHL) administration committee has upheld its original decision made on December 1 to replay the abandoned men’s fixture between Cookstown and Annadale in full.
The original fixture was abandoned by the umpires in the third quarter with Annadale leading 4-1, as the Coolnafranky pitch was declared unsafe amid freezing conditions.
IHL organisers ordered the game to be replayed in its entirity, but Annadale appealed the decision, with the appeals commission receiving written and oral submissions from the administration committee and Annadale on December 22.
In a statement issued this afternoon, the administration committee made public its decision to uphold its initial ruling, based on three points. The first is that both team managers signed the match report form on November 29, accepting the match had abandoned.
Secondly, the IHL committee did not refer to the match being “interrupted” as defined in guideline 2.1 of the IHL notes. However, the intent was to address the matter based on the match report form received, which indicated the match had been abandoned.
Finally, the appeal commission’s interpretation of guideline 2.1 is that rearrangement, when impossible to resume on the same day, indicates the match be rescheduled in its entirity.
