Dominion Soccer Council Assailed

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 413, 23 July 1928, Page 1

Dominion Soccer Council Assailed

“PAROCHIAL SPIRIT” CHATHAM CUP DRAW Press Association HASTINGS, To-day-Sharp criticism of the Dominion Association -Football Council has been provoked in Hawke’s Bay. The draw for the Chatham Cup competition showed that the winners of the Mauawatu-Hawke’s Bay match, played last Saturday week, between St. Andrew’s and Hastings United, were to meet Wellington. The former were to play at home. Hastings won its game and Petone was tho winner in the Wellington Province, so that the latter was due to meet’ Hastings in Hastings next Saturday. The New Zealand Association informed the Hawke’s Bay Football Association last week that th© match was definitely arranged for Hastings, but on Friday it wired that the Hastings team must travel to Wellington to play, or forfeit the match. The position was* discussed at a meeting of the Hawke’s Bay Association on Saturday evening, when it was decided to wire the following protest to the New Zealand Association:

“That this meting of delegates of the Hawke’s Bay Football Association enters an emphatic protest against the action of the New Zealand Football Council in demanding that, unless the Hastings United team travels to Wellington to meet Petono on July 28 in the Chatham Cup tie, in spite of having drawn the match to be played in Hastings, the team will forfeit the game, and, further, that it is considered that this example of parochialism has deprived the Hawke’s Bay Association of a splendid chance of furthering the game in the province. We respectfully ask for an explanation as to why the draw has been altered, in our opinion most wrongfully, to suit Wellington.”

It was also decided to write to all associations enclosing a copy of the protest and asking for support.