A young football player suffering from cerebral palsy has received an award of €5,000 after she was restricted from participating in competitive matches due to age rules when her former team ascended to the under-12s level. This marked incident was deemed as disability-related discrimination. The governing authority of the women’s Gaelic football, The Ladies Gaelic Football Association, has been directed by the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) to amend its age restriction policies within a six-month timeframe. This is to ensure that juvenile players with disabilities are granted allowances to partake in games up to the under-12s level.
The case was filed under the Equal Status Act of 2000 by the young girl’s father against the football administrative body. The WRC was informed of the girl’s previous arrangement to participate in matches with girls of a younger age group, a concession made in consideration of her disability. The girl, who at 13, was comparable in size to an average nine-year-old and moved at a significantly slower pace relative to her peers, had plans to continue playing under-12s football in 2022, as noted by the tribunal.
Regrettably, on the commencement day of the season, April 8th, she was initially informed that she wouldn’t be able to compete due to her being “overage”. Albeit, a conversation between the coaches enabled her to play that first match, she was subsequently denied the access to partake in any other competitive games. The girl’s father, during the trial, stated that his daughter experienced a great deal of “humiliation” as she was denied the chance to play, a situation that was amplified by the fact that her teammates were primarily her school friends.
In a series of letters with a young girl’s parents, a decision was reached by the club that in order to safeguard both the girl and the club, she would not be permitted to participate in competitive games at the Under-12 age group, as described to the tribunal. However, she was allowed to continue attending training sessions. This resolution was supported by the county board, which led to the girl being sidelined for all competitive fixtures for the remainder of the 2022 season, as recorded by the WRC.
To preserve the child’s anonymity, neither the club nor its officials were named in the tribunal’s verdict.
The tribunal also heard that the girl’s father had highlighted how the Football Association in the UK had a policy of granting exemptions to its age rules in cases like these. A high-ranking manager from the LGFA, known as Ms A, insisted that this scenario would be impractical.
Chairman of the club, known as Mr C, refuted claims that the girl was prevented from playing due to her disability, as reported by adjudicator Thomas O’Driscoll. However, this was deemed inconsistent with WhatsApp messages indicating a risk assessment.
O’Driscoll advocated in his resolution that Under-12 games and those below should not cause any detrimental psychological impacts on children, particularly those already dealing with physical disabilities.