Hi °C | Lo °C Portadown vice-chairman Bobby Jameson said last night his club will confidently challenge allegations that it missed the application deadline for the IFA's new 12-team Premier League on March 31.
Jameson said last night that Portadown's application form was stamped at 4.14pm, 14 minutes after the deadline.
However, it is believed Portadown's receipt was issued after 4.30pm.
The IFA staged an emergency meeting last night to discuss an issue of process and is expected to announce its decision in the next few days.
Jameson said: "There is a lot of hype surrounding our application for the Invitational League but there is nothing to be concerned about.
"When the IFA wrote to us in December, the cover letter of its correspondence stated a March 31, 2008 deadline. It did not say anything about a 4pm deadline.
"It is only later in the correspondence, on the application form in fact, that it mentions a 4pm deadline.
"We did turn up at the IFA about five minutes after 4pm and waited for a member of staff to come off the phone before we could get a receipt at 4.14pm.
"By accepting it, the IFA has accepted the submission of our application and therefore it is valid.
