THE IMMIGRANT soccer team D-Pils FC have pulled out of the Leinster Football League (LFL) in protest at the FAI’s ruling against their claim of assault by members of another club.
D-Pils, composed mainly of players of Latvian descent, quit the league where they played for the last two years after the FAI’s disciplinary committee cleared Landen United, another club in the same league, of allegations of assault against their team captain.
“This means our captain’s lip burst by itself,” one D-Pils player commented.
The incident in question occurred on 1 March in locker rooms adjacent to a pitch in the Phoenix Park following a game between D-Pils and Landen, a team from the Ballyfermot area of Dublin. D-Pils captain Evgeny Baranovsky sustained a badly bruised lip and nose in the attack, which was noted in a Garda report.
A witness to the assault claimed: “Two Landen players were discussing the game with the D-Pils player. Then one of them threw a head butt at him and they left. It was a very strong hit. The player was on the ground and his nose was bleeding badly.” The witness said “five or six” people saw the attack.
The referee of the match, Paul Thornton, did not witness the incident, but saw its aftermath. “I saw [Baranovsky] on the floor with blood coming out of his mouth,” he told Metro Éireann.
It is alleged that the attack came in retaliation for a previous scuffle on the pitch, which resulted in three red cards shown to Landen players and one given to Baranovsky.
Another D-Pils player was injured as a result of the on-pitch scuffle. Dmitry Mikheev, also from Latvia, sustained a violent blow to the head which later required a hospital visit.
Although gardaí were called to the scene and a report was filed, Baranovsky chose not to pursue the case. Instead, D-Pils complained to the LFL and demanded that Landen United be expelled. Following an investigation, the league decided to throw Landen out.
The Ballyfermot side then appealed to the Leinster Football Association (LFA), which upheld the league’s decision. “We found that there was not enough evidence from Landen to substantiate their appeal,” explained LFA provincial administrator Peter Doyle, who heard the case.
Landen responded with another appeal to the disciplinary committee of the FAI, which was successful.
