RUMBLE IN THE ARENA 17TH DEC CANCELLED.

lionheart_ma

It is with deep regret that I have to announce the cancellation of the rumble in the arena due to take place, this saturday, the 17th of December. I am going to be straight with everybody and tell the truth about what happened but firstly I want to say sorry to all the trainers and fighters who have put a lot of work into getting ready for this show. I also want to apologise to anybody who has bought a ticket. All tickets will be refunded from the place of purchase.

The Thai team visa's application was refused because of a mistake by the office in WMC Bangkok. There was a section in the form where you have to fill in the address of where the Thai's are staying whilst they are here which was left empty and the application also needed a letter from Rob Cox saying the Thai team had jobs to return to after their visa's expired.

I was told by the WMC office that the visa's were granted about 2 weeks ago. The Irish Muay Thai council was also told the visa's were granted. I even went as far to email the lady dealing with the visa to double check everything was good to go before I booked the flights. The flights alone were close to 4000 euro so i wanted to be sure and i was told there was no problem and to book the flights for the 13th. I booked the flights for the 14th. They only told me there was a problem about 24hrs before the Thai team were supposed to be on the plane. When i checked it out in the department of immigration in Dublin they told me the visa's had been refused because of the reasons i previously stated. I have done everything possible to try get the visa issue sorted. I have been in the department of immigration on three different occasions , i have contacted the minister for sport to see if they could help and i have been up all night for the last 2 days to stay in touch with Thailand and to try speed it up from that end. I have spent all of today trying to get replacement fighters for Meleady and Thrasher but unfortunately its just to short notice to match fighters of their class.

A serious amount of work has gone into this and i have lost well over 10,000 euro of my own money which is a hard blow to take. All the work is done for the show which is why its such a hard decision to call it off but to continue with the show without Meleady or Thrasher is unfair to the people who have paid for tickets.

I would like to once again say sorry to everybody who bought tickets and especially to trainers and fighters who put in all the hard work only to be let down at the last minute. I have 5 of my own fighters matched so i understand the frustration from fighters and trainers to be let down at the last minute. Nobody wanted this show to be a success more than i did and i have done everything in my power to save it.

If anybody has any questions about refunds my email is <snip>removed to stop spam, please PM if you want to get in touch with Tony</snip>

Tony Olin

zenno

lionheart_ma wrote: »

A serious amount of work has gone into this and i have lost well over 10,000 euro of my own money which is a hard blow to take.

that's really bad news man. I wonder if a website can be made for donations to help you recoup the lost money, it's just an idea.

nino1

thats a tough blow man, after all that effort.
i am not going to look for a refund and would hope anyone who can afford it would do the same to minimise your losses.
hope you can bounce back from this.

RedRaven

Tony,
I find it hard to not get angry over the situation that faced you in regards to the forced cancellation of your show . I do hope people will understand that this was not your fault and I do hope this does not turn you from promoting Muay Thai in Ireland. Just an idea Perhaps some people will not seek a refund in lieu of a free pass at your next big show in Feb. I was due to judge at your show tomorrow night and as a offering to assist you with the financial loss I will wave my fee to judge at your Feb show. Its not much but it all adds up. Head Up lad, Chok Dee.