CORK CITY have been handed some welcome news as their home ground Turner’s Cross is almost set to reopen.
Earlier this month, Munster FA closed the stadium for ‘an indefinite period of time’ in order to repair the heavily damaged pitch.
After Cork and Cobh Ramblers battled it out in their local derby, the pitch was deemed unusable for the coming weeks.
A statement read: “Following a meeting of the Munster Football Association Executive it has been decided that Turner’s Cross will be closed indefinitely.
“Unfortunately we have had to make this decision in conjunction with and on the advice of our pitch contractors following the League of Ireland fixture that took place on Friday night last where extensive areas of the pitch have been severely damaged.
“We wish to ensure all affected parties that while there is a period of extensive works needed we endeavour to have the Turners Cross pitch restored and playable as soon as possible.”
However, after a few weeks of uncertainty Cork have been advised that the ground can reopen on May 1.
The first game back at Turner’s Cross is set to be the Women’s Premier Division clash between Cork and Treaty United on May 4.
This will be the first time a Women’s match has been broadcast live from Turner’s Cross with TG4 scheduled to show the game.
Cork City said: “We are hoping for a big crowd for the occasion and we are calling on all City fans to get behind Danny Murphy and his team on the day.”
The Men’s team will return to the ground a couple days later to take on Wexford on the Bank Holiday Monday.
Cork City recently came under fire after they made an unlawful substitution in a Women’s Premier Division game against Bohemians.
City beat Bohs 1-0 on March 30, though the Dublins highlighted that Cork’s fifth and final substitution was against the rules.
Clubs can only make substitutions on three occasions, excluding half-time, to avoid too many stoppages during games.
But City’s final change when Aoife Robinson replaced Colleen Kennedy after 86 minutes was their fourth stoppage, with officials not spotting the infringement at the time.
Bohemians contacted the FAI, who referred the issue to the Disciplinary Control Unit who decided on giving City a warning rather than overturning the result.
But Bohs, who are not privy to the reasons behind the decision, believe it could lead to trouble in future cases that are similar.
NOT HAPPY
A Bohemians statement read: “The disciplinary committee have given Cork City the logic of their decision.
“We have not had sight of the logic as we are not a party to the decision, which we feel is flawed as it was an objective incident and a clear rules breach.
“The warning given means that the decision cannot be appealed.
“We feel this has set a dangerous precedent in the league, to both women’s and men’s football as they operate under the same set of rules.
“A mistake was made but this mistake had the potential to impact the result of the game.
“We respect the disciplinary committee and their independence but in this instance believe the wrong decision has been made.”
Cork responded with a statement that read: “With regard to the Women’s Premier Division game against Bohemians.
“Cork City FC can confirm that the club engaged fully in the disciplinary process conducted by the FAI and Independent Disciplinary Committee.
“The club accepts the finding of the Committee, and has no further comment on the matter.”