ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL

Taranaki Daily News, 28 August 1930, Page 4

ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL

; ALBION-CALEDONIAN DISPUTE. .- CONTROLLING BODY DECIDES. • ■ Matters in. connection :with:ihe control. of ■ Association football. In Taranaki were dealt with by a meeting of the executive committee of the Taranaki Football Association at Stratford last night. Mr. T. Smith presided. With reference to the misunderstanding regarding the -Chinese Cup competition the northern sub-committee wrote apologising for and withdrawing any remarks that , had been made questioning the competency of the executive of the association. The Albion Club wrote claiming points from the Caledonian Club in respect of the fixture between teams of the two clubs on July 10 when, %aid the letter, only seven Caledonian players arrived at the ground. They did not change but insisted upon waiting for the referee. After 20 minutes they j left the ground. When a referee was found Albion lined up, kicked off, and declared the game won by default. The chairman stated that the northern sub-committee had decided that the two teams should meet again‘but the Almon- Club was protesting against the decision on the grounds- that that was playing into the ■ hands of the Caledonian Club which, Albion alleged, did not want to play, the game on July 19. “And that is what appears to me to be the position,” said the chairman.. When seven players in ordinary clothes walked on to a field, stayed for twenty minutes and then walked off it certainly looked as if the team those players belonged to had no desire to play the match. Asked if the seven players would have played had a referee arrived before the 20 minutes had elapsed Mr. R. Bel), representing the Caledonian Club, s.-ml the seven men would have gone on the field. Much argument ensued but the chairman pointed out that the position was quite clear. It was purely a matter of 1 whether the sub-committee's decision was to be upheld or whether the claim of. the Albion Club should ’ be recognised. Finally the protest was upheld, the points and the game being awarded to Albion by default. J As selector he had been criticised tor not including North Taranaki players in the representative team that played Wanganui, said Mr. W. Adams (Havvera). He said he had tried on two occasions to arrange a North v. South trial match but the games had' never eventuated because the date arranged" for the first trial had been the day the British Rugby team played Taranaxi and because on thd second occasion, the, northern clubs notified that the play-, ers could not afford to travel.'’.With only a comparatively short time re-

malning, said Mr. Adams, he had selected a team from South Taranaki. Thas team had defeated Wanganui and he considered that his action had been juetified.