Waterford FC will not take this lying down.
The FAI released a statement late on Thursday night to inform Waterford FC that they had been denied a licence to play European football in the 2019/2020 season.
This rebuttal is a result of the Déise club not fulfilling the three year rule which is part of UEFA’s regulations. The regulations state that a club must be in operation for at least three consecutive years in order to play in their competitions, yet Waterford FC were taken over by new owners in 2017 and were re-branded, having previously been known as Waterford United.
All of these developments came about as a result of St Pats’ – who finished a place behind Waterford in last year’s LOI table – objections against Waterford playing in the competition.
The FAI’s statement cleared the way for Pat’s to go forward, but Waterford responded with a statement of their own on Friday afternoon from club owner Lee Power.
The club are ‘shocked and saddened’ and claim to have been ‘misled‘ by the FAI, stating that the association gave them ‘assurances throughout this five month process that the licence would be granted’.
Therefore, they are requesting a full investigation into the FAI’s handling of the matter.
“Everyone at Waterford FC are deeply shocked and saddened at the news that we have been expelled from playing in the Europa League this season. We feel we have been totally misled by the FAI and were given assurances throughout this five-month process by them that the licence would be granted. We also had club visits by UEFA Delegates during this period of which no issues were raised.
As a club, we entered into substantial commercial agreements and invested heavily again into the team and also budgeted for the qualification money due in November. This will now have a serious financial impact on the club going forward.
The circumstances to which this decision has been made and the events over the last week are unclear and dubious, bearing in mind representations made to us and assurances given.
We will be asking for a full investigation into the FAI handling of this matter.
I have instructed my UK Lawyers to lodge an immediate appeal with UEFA and will pursue any legal avenue we have with regards to compensation and/or any wrong doing against a number of parties.
Finally, I must mention the people who matter the most – The Supporters – who have supported this club through thick and thin and have been badly let down by the people in Ireland governing this process.
Lee Power,
Chairman/Owner”
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