Dunfermline Press | Sport | So flippin' annoying

Tuesday, 6th January, 2009

Published: Thursday, 3rd May, 2007 12:00

So flippin' annoying

By Simon Harris

PARS boss Stephen Kenny has urged SFA chiefs to cut the red tape he says is strangling the game.

Kenny is upset that three Pars stars – Tam McManus, Stephen Glass and Gary Mason – will now miss the Scottish Cup final against Celtic on 26th May after minor breaches of SFA rules.

McManus and Glass are cup-tied after both were non-playing substitutes in earlier rounds of the competition for their previous clubs. Mason is banned for being booked twice in five matches en route to Hampden.

Kenny is sick of the body’s ‘rules are rules’ mentality concerning McManus and Glass, which comes hot on the heels of the SFA digging their heels in over last week’s Hampden semi-final replay, which meant thousands of fans missing out on the game.

“Football, ultimately, is about players, players and supporters,” the Dubliner told Press Sport. “Players are the most important things in football but the relationship between players and supporters is tremendous and that’s what makes football strong.

“I think external factors like bureaucracy should be secondary. Players give everything and you have to understand the sacrifices players make throughout their careers.

“I think we can be too bureaucratic, I think players need to be treated with more compassion, there needs to be a greater understanding of the values of the game. What are the merits of preventing them playing? Are there any?

“Fine, if someone gets sent off for gross misconduct you can understand that but these are minor issues.”

McManus misses out because he sat on the bench in Falkirk’s tie with Berwick earlier this season while Glass was a sub for Hibs against Aberdeen. Neither got on but they’re still cup tied as far as the SFA are concerned.

McManus hoped there was a chance he could make the final after it emerged this week that Jamie Adams played in the cup for Queen of the South against Hibs after being on the bench for Kilmarnock against Morton in the third round.

But the door was slammed shut this week with SFA spokesman Andy Mitchell explaining, “We can’t change rules half way through or just before the end of the competition.

“The situation with Jamie Adams has now been brought to our attention. It’s a clear breach of the rules with Queen of the South playing an ineligible player and we will be pursuing this with Queen of the South and reporting to the general purposes committee. But because there’s been one breach, it doesn’t allow another one.”

Responding to the wider point that the SFA hadn’t done much to help either Pars fans, last week, or the players, this week when the game is about players and fans, Mitchell said, “In hindsight, of course we could have chosen another venue (than Hampden for the semi-final replay) but we didn’t and by the time we received any protest it was too late.

“Regarding Tam McManus, at the end of the day if football people think a rule is wrong, they have it within their power to change the rule.

“If Dunfermline are unhappy as a club they can send in a letter and ask for a change.”

Pars chief executive Bill Hodgins sent a letter yesterday (Wednesday) seeking clarification from the SFA following the breach by Queen of the South.

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