WOMEN'S HOCKEY: Ireland can, at last, start preparing for the World Cup finals in Perth, Australia, after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) yesterday announced that it was reinstating the women's hockey team in the line-up for November's tournament.

The CAS upheld the Irish Hockey Association's (IHA) appeal against the ruling of the International Hockey Federation's Disciplinary Commission (DC), which required the team to attempt to "requalify" for the finals after the illegally-run penalty strokes competition between Ireland and Lithuania at the World Cup qualifying tournament in France in September.

In a comprehensive victory for the IHA, which won its case on every count, the CAS set aside the DC's November judgment; restored the decisions made by World Cup qualifier tournament director, Claire Peeters-Monseu; deemed Lithuania to have withdrawn from the competition (thus ending their World Cup qualifying hopes), and ordered the FIH and Lithuania to "reimburse" the IHA to the tune of 1,000 Swiss francs each.

"Absolutely delighted," said IHA president Joan McCloy, "we couldn't have written the decision better ourselves. It upheld all that our appeal was about and fully vindicated the stance we have taken over the past few months.

"The DC's decision was clearly a 'political hockey' result; we went to a court that had absolutely no hockey connections, that's why we won.

"When you play sport you play by the rules. On this occasion the rules weren't abided by - and fair play is, after all, playing by the rules. Lithuania certainly didn't do so when they refused to turn up for the replay of the strokes competition between the teams, as CAS decided.

"We all felt sorry for them at the time, but their behaviour over the next 24 hours didn't make them any friends. At the end of the day they put themselves out of the tournament."

Irish captain Rachael Kohler expressed her sympathy for the Lithuanian players yesterday while admitting that she could feel no compassion for their management or legal team. "I wouldn't wish what we've all been through on any one," Kohler said, "but my feelings now are ones of pure delight. We finished fifth at that tournament, deservedly so, and CAS has acknowledged this."

It has now emerged that Lithuania hinted in last Friday's hearing, without any evidence to back up their allegation, that a member of the Irish delegation attempted to bribe a senior FIH official in an effort to ensure a replay of the original penalty strokes competition. They were also caught out lying about their knowledge, or lack of it, of the timing of the penalty "replay", having spent the night before in lengthy discussions with FIH officials, all of whom made clear the timing of the "replay".

"It's incredible what the players have gone through, emotionally, these past few months," said Irish vice-captain Arlene Boyles.

"All because somebody, somewhere, in their infinite wisdom, did not have the gumption to say 'the decision stands, that's the end of it'.

"The time and money and effort that has gone in to this is ridiculous. I'm just a simple hockey player, I know nothing about the law, but it seems to me truly incredible that it went this far."

When asked how she would react to criticism of the Irish team, that they lacked a spirit of "fair play" in light of the fact that Lithuania had "won" the original penalty competition between the teams, Boyles said: "Comments like that hold no water in sport when you have followed the rule book to the letter. In every area of life you have to follow the rules and for the first time ever Ireland had the balls to use the rules to their advantage."

"I feel very sorry for the Lithuanian players," said Irish coach Riet Kuper, "but I think they were let down by their management. They should have turned up for the strokes replay, they didn't, so there really was no way back for them. If you refuse to abide by the rules of a tournament you cannot complain afterwards.

"We deserve to be in the World Cup because we finished fifth at the qualifier, now we can start to make plans. We're thrilled, but it has been a very, very strange few months."