Daniel not allowed to join Avenue United

DANIEL Griffin is a 13-year-old boy who wants to play soccer with Avenue United but his request to join the Ennis club was turned down at a recent meeting of the Clare Schoolboys executive.
That decision led to the resignation of the league secretary, Davy Kerins, who is a member of the Avenue United Club. Kerins would only say he had resigned from the league because he didn’t agree with a decision that they had made.
Daniel Griffin lives in Quin and attends school in Clooney. For the past two seasons he played schoolboys soccer with Tulla United. His form led to him being chosen on the Clare Emerging Talent Squad.
According to the Schoolboy League rules, a club may only sign one player from the Emerging Talent Squad in any one season. Avenue signed Cathal Darcy from Lifford and their request to sign Griffin was then turned down. At the time, Tulla objected to the application.
Griffin hasn’t signed for any other club this year but he has continued to train with Avenue United.
“It’s heartbreaking to see what is happening. Daniel takes part in all of our training and he attends all of our games. He is as much a part of the squad as the others. All he wants to do is to play soccer but he is caught in the middle,” according to Lawrence Ryan, manager of the Avenue U-13 team. “Surely, the aim is to have as many as possible play the game. He is not signed with any club but he is not allowed to join Avenue,” he added.
According to Schoolboys League chairman Tommy Molloy, “There is nothing we can do. This should have been resolved last year. The rules are there and we have to go by them”.
The fact that Daniel is not a member of any club at this time looks like it will cost him his place on the Emerging Talent Squad as a player must be signed with a club to be part of this squad.
“We only want a solution. He is heartbroken. He attends every match and all training sessions. He has worked hard to get his place on that squad,” his mother, Mona, said.
“I was brought into the emerging talent squad two years ago at U-11,” explained Daniel this week. He lived in England for a number of years and when he came to live in Quin, he began to play for Tulla. “I played with Avenue in an U-9 tournament in Nenagh and I played the last two seasons with Tulla. I haven’t signed or played for anyone this year,” he explained
“We can’t change our decision because the rules don’t allow. We can’t do anything,” league chairman Molloy concluded.