ST PATRICK'S Athletic and Sligo Rovers have been fined by the FAI's Disciplinary Committee for their respective parts in the dispute over club colours that led to the start of their opening game of the season at Richmond Park being delayed by more than half an hour.

Each club has been fined €1,000 while the Dubliners must pay a further €150 and the visitors €100 as a result of an object being thrown on to the field of play later that evening. In its ruling, the disciplinary committee said Sligo were being fined for failing to bring the second strip they should have because this had contributed to the problem while the Dublin club were being fined for failing to comply with an instruction by the referee to wear their away shirts.

St Patrick's Athletic officials said last night the club was considering the possibility of an appeal.

The FAI press conference at Abbotstown due to be held at some point in early April will feature Giovanni Trapattoni's assistants - Liam Brady and Marco Tardelli - and not the new Ireland manager as mistakenly reported in The Irish Times yesterday. Trapattoni, the FAI emphasised yesterday, will not perform official duties until the beginning of May.