The Irish Paralympic team was in uproar yesterday after long-time Paralympian and Whitegate-native Derek Malone was deemed "not disabled enough" to compete in the seven-a-side football tournament, even though he took bronze in Athens in the 800 metres.The Paralympic Council of Ireland (PCI) have complained about the way the decision was reached and want clarification from the authorities on how the classification team issued the ban. "This has left a very bitter taste in my mouth," said Malone, who has a mild form of cerebral palsy, in an interview at the Paralympic media centre. "It's shaken all the principles I've held in sport and I need to have a serious think about whether I can recover from this blow."
Seven-a-side soccer at the Paralympics is played only by athletes with cerebral palsy, who are assessed and classified by officials of the
Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association (CP-ISRA) according to the extent of their impairment. Malone was around two years old when he was diagnosed as suffering from cerebral palsy, after he had a haemorrhage at six days old.Derek retired from the athletics track last May because of recurring injury but agreed to play soccer for the Irish team.
His mother told the Irish Independent last night he was "devastated" by the CPISRA ruling. Derek, meanwhile, said there was no point in feeling sorry for himself and he would still try to help his team mates in their game against Great Britain.
