LGFA ordered to pay €5,000 to girl with cerebral palsy over ban from playing with younger team

The Ladies Gaelic Football Association has been ordered to pay €5,000 compensation to a young girl with cerebral palsy who was banned from playing competitive matches with the under-12 team because she was too old.

The Workplace Relations Commission ruled the LGFA had discriminated against the girl on grounds of disability contrary to the Equal Status Act.

The WRC ruled that the LGFA had not afforded the girl reasonable accommodation for her disability.

It also directed the LGFA to introduce an age dispensation policy for children with a disability in underage levels up to and including under-12s within six months.

The WRC said such a policy should be fully compliant with the Equal Status Acts 2000-2015 and be incorporated into the LGFA’s Code of Ethics and Good Practice for Young Players.

The WRC ruled that the identity of the girl and her club should be anonymised because of the special circumstances of a case involving a minor with a disability.

The girl’s father claimed his daughter had not been provided with reasonable accommodation for her disability when she was prohibited from playing competitively at under-12 level when she was aged 13.

He also complained that she had been discriminated against on age grounds.

The LGFA denied that it had discriminated against the girl in any manner.

The girl had been permitted to play with a younger age group – one to two years behind her chronological age – because of reduced speed associated with her disability since she was seven years old.

The WRC heard that the girl was informed on April 8th, 2022, which was the under-12 team's first match of the season, that she would not be allowed to play as the opposing team could object to an over-age player.

However, the girl was