Soccer

Local politicians falling short in helping sport claims Cliftonville chief Gerard Lawlor

Cliftonville chief Gerard Lawlor has criticised the 'lack of support' from government here
Cliftonville chief Gerard Lawlor has criticised the 'lack of support' from government here Cliftonville chief Gerard Lawlor has criticised the 'lack of support' from government here

Danske Irish Premiership:

CLIFTONVILLE chairman Gerard Lawlor has accused politicians of not doing enough for local football and believes they don’t place a high enough price on the role sports clubs play in people's lives.

With many sports clubs struggling to stay afloat over the last 11 months due to Covid-19, the Reds chief has criticised the time lag between the December announcement by the Communities Ministry that sport was in line for a £25m windfall.

Approaching three months since the cash injection, sports clubs on the ground have yet to see any of this money.

“There was £25m announced for sport last year,” said Lawlor. “We’re nearly at the end of February and we haven’t seen any of that money.

“We’re being told there will be ‘letters of offer’ this week but I don’t think they realise the importance of sport in our communities.

“Some political parties don’t see or appreciate the impact and some only care for certain sports. I just think our political leaders need to give us some support because we’re not getting that at the moment.”

Classed as ‘elite’, the Irish Premiership is currently the only competitive football being played in the north – but without fans allowed into games, Lawlor has even questioned the relevance of the season.

Before the last round of restrictions in December, Irish Premier League clubs were restricted to 500 supporters, but all games are currently being played behind closed doors, which is causing financial hardship.

In yesterday’s roadmap out of lockdown, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson envisaged stadia reaching 25 per cent capacity after May 17.

“I would hope that we could get back to a 500 limit again after Easter,” Lawlor said.

“If we look at what’s happening across the water that’s what I would hope would happen after Easter because it makes all the difference in the world. It feels pointless without the fans to be honest.

“If cases continue to fall and we continue to vaccinate people, that’s what I would hope for. Sport is a release for people. It’s getting out of the house, it’s meeting friends, it’s an escape from work and it’s a passion that we shouldn’t just ignore and forget about.”

Meanwhile, the Reds will host Ballymena United this evening after David Jeffrey’s men asked for the fixture to be switched to Solitude’s 4G surface as the Showgrounds would more than likely be rained off.

The north Belfast men have hit a bit of form of late after seeing off high-flying Larne 1-0 last Saturday, while Ballymena thrashed the Reds 4-0 on their last visit to Solitude back in November, which was one of the low points of the hosts’ season.

Elsewhere, Glentoran, who’ve just broken into the top six at the expense of Ballymena, will be hoping to deny cross-city rivals and league leaders Linfield who have stumbled to back-to-back draws.

The good thing for the Blues, though, is the dip in form from the chasing pack. Larne have drawn six games which has taken momentum out of their title challenge while third-placed Crusaders are enduring an erratic campaign, losing three out of their last five league outings.

Larne will hope to bounce back from last weekend’s 1-0 loss at Cliftonville when they visit Portadown this evening (7.30pm).

Carrick Rangers’ mini revival was stopped in its tracks following a 4-3 home loss to Glenavon as Niall Currie’s men welcome fourth-placed Coleraine (7.45pm) who are one of the form sides in the division.

Elsewhere, Glenavon travel to rock bottom Dungannon Swifts (7.45pm).