Soccer matches abandoned

The MDL Div 3B tie between Knightsbrook and hosts Fordrew on Sunday was abandoned midway during the second-half after the referee was allegedly verbally abused while the Premier C Reserve encounter between Oldcastle and Abbey Celtic on Saturday was also called off for the same reason. Knightsbrook were leading 4-0 at the time and according to one clubman they will be hoping to claim all three points on offer while the Oldcastle, Abbey game may well have to be replayed. MDL secretary Gerry Gorman says the league will await the referees' reports before any further action is taken. During the opening half of the Div 3B game the referee had shown a red card to a member of the Fordrew contingent who had been standing on the sideline after comments were directed towards the match official. Fordrew were reduced to 10 men after approximately 75 minutes when one of their players also saw red. After his dismissal criticism was directed at the match official again and it was at that stage that he walked off the pitch bringing an end to proceedings. The referee had already handed out a number of yellow cards and it is understood most of them were shown to Fordrew players. A Fordrew official said that while there were some flashpoints it was not a game marked by bad-tempered tackles. "Most of the cards were for talking, there was nothing malicious, it was quite a clean game," he added. "We have no problem with Knightsbrook getting the three points, they were well ahead by the time the game was abandoned." The game between Oldcastle and Abbey Celtic on Saturday afternoon was also brought to a premature end. The game had already reached half-time when what was described as a "schmozzle" developed and a player from each side was shown the red card. Allegedly the referee was verbally abused by the Oldcastle player who had been dismissed and the match official called the game off immediately. Oldcastle were leading 2-0 at the time.