PRICKLY HEAT

NZ Truth, Issue 1177, 21 June 1928, Page 16

PRICKLY HEAT

Thistle Will Not Be Sat Uppn (From "N.Z. Truth's" Auckland Rep.) Once again the affairs of the Auckland Football Association have become very much ruffled by internal strife. THE latest development is the ex--1 communication of the Thistle Club, at their own request, following a dispute which aro__e m a match on Saturday week as the result of which Kay, the Thistle and Auckland flying out-side-left, was ordered off the field and suspended for two playing Saturdays, for disputing a referee's decision. The decision to withdraw from the A.F.A. was arrived at on Tuesday evening with rather tragic suddenness and was made by two or three members of the Thistle committee and some of the senior players who had attended the headquarters of the A.F.A. to give evidence on behalf of their comrade m his trial after oeing ordered off the field. What Lies Behind It cannot be said that such a drastic finding was arrived at by a special general meeting of the club and is, strictly speaking, illegal. Beyond the actual fact of the ordering off of Kay, however, there may be a reason for the row that took place at the game on the North Shore where the team was unexpectedly beaten by the babies of the competition, Belmont. The Thistleites now allege that I. M. Dilson who, until, a season or two ago, was a member of the Thistle Club, "had it in". for them and that he took his revenge on the occasion m question, the assertion being, backed up by statements of players and some sup-

porters that the control of the particular game left much to be desired. Whether this was so or not, it is a fact that the Belmont Club, the opponents of the Thistle on the fateful occasion, voluntarily came forward and gave evidence on the part of Kay, stating that the decision which led to. his questioning • the ruling of the referee and for which he was ordered to the pavilion, was wrong. There is of course a constitutional remedy provided by the rules of the N.Z.F.A. and that is by appeal against any suspension of a player and a club can also go the legal way about demanding an inquiry into the qualifications or conduct of any referee. Thistle chose tp disregard these and adopt direct action. The result was that' their letter of withdrawal was accepted by the management committee of the A.F.A., but not before some very candid remarks had been made by the members of the management anent the Thistle. The position now is that the Thistle propose to see what can be done m the way of breaking away from the presently constituted A.F.A. and forming an association of their own and for this purpose they propose to hold a meeting of supporters of the club and the code. It seems pretty certain that a deadlock, will arise and should the Thistle castaways go the • length of applying for the registration of a'new.'associa-tion-to the N.Z. controlling body there l appears to be little chance' of their 'being successful. ' - But can the New Zealand Council hold aloof from such a matter? If they are alive to the best interests of [the code they ought not to be beyond interfering- 'ln a domestic squabble of this kind. Theirs ought to be the part of mediator and it is up to them to take the matter ih hand and go into the matter with wholesome impartiality.