St. Patrick's Athletic joined Derry City on Friday night in rejecting the offer of €5,000 from the Football Association of Ireland as part of a strategic development plan.
Derry branded the offer "disgraceful," while a strongly-worded statement from St Pat's hit out at the FAI, stating that they wanted their rejection of the offer to "serve as a clear message to the FAI that it has utterly failed in its responsibility to the domestic game."
"Offering the proverbial 'crumbs from the rich man's table' will not shift the resolve of those clubs and those individuals determined to create a properly funded and professionally managed league in Ireland," continued the statement.
However, the FAI have hit back at the League of Ireland club. Speaking to the Irish Independent, FAI Director of Communications Ian Mallon said that their stance on the matter simply didn't make sense.
"Frank Kinsella attended the meeting between the PCA and the FAI, with Michael Cush, agreed and signed off on the process, and now, more than a week later his club has decided they don't want to be a part of something they agreed to in the first place. It defies all logic," said Mallon.
On Friday night, former Ireland manager Brian Kerr also hit out at the offer from the Association, labeling it as "Mickey Mouse stuff", and stating that "it's a long way from what needs to be done with regard to the league overall."
With two clubs rejecting the offer so far, there may be more twists and turns in this story yet, as a battle looks set to break out between the FAI and the League of Ireland clubs.
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