Penalising Clubs in Football

Just posting this in the hope that typing the words will get it out of my system.:p

My local club was recently found guilty of fielding an ineligible player. The penalty for this was a 19 point deduction.

While the penalty reasonably applies the law - they were deducted the amount of points they gained while fielding the player contrary to the rules, there are two things that still bug me.

1. How can the Association retain any credibility for allowing this to occur over 7 games! and
2. If the rumours are to be believed, it was the former Club Adminstrator, responsible for player registrations, who was sacked for another matter, who actually reported the breach.

Whoodathunkit!:confused:

Feel a little bit better now.:cool:

19 points for this, it's insaine.... plus is their fault too, they should find it after 2,3 games not after 6,7.

Yeah, it was just enough to drop us into the relegation zone.

Strange thing was, the required international clearance for the player was received by the Association - but an update/reinstated player registration was not.

The Club is in a mess, steadily imploding with all the Committee in-fighting, but the players have performed well considering, so hope for next season.

Some teams fixed games and they got -6,9 points when they should be sent in 4th league and because of a player they got -19 is just insaine.

They should go to UEFA, I'm sure this is not the first case when a player is playing without contract.

Anyway.. football mafia... "1. How can the Association retain any credibility for allowing this to occur over 7 games!"

There are actually a few cases like this rumbling about....one involved Sunderland who fielded an ineligible player (International clearance) and they could similarly have been docked the points gained in 4 matches (and thrust further into relegation trouble) but were fined instead.

My Club is not appealing the decision - if they did (just to complete the process, as required (I think) for a referral) the Assoc. might deem it frivolous, dismiss it and seek to recover the whole cost from the club before it could be escalated. The problem is the rule is clear and men in blazers don't really recognise the words fair or just. Just so annoying that a person can make an 'error' and then, after being sacked, can report a club for his error. >.<

The bigger the club, the more they get away with.

Alfreton Town in the Conference this year were docked 3 points for fielding an illegible player in one game. Those 3 points cost them a playoff spot. Sunderland did the same in the Premiership, but no points were docked, helping them stay up.

My team, Halifax, went bust and had to reform after owing 2M back in 2008. Portsmouth have been 90M+ in debt for the past 10 years, but as they won the FA Cup... Same with Man Utd - 450M+ in debt, nothing is done.

Argentina's Independiente could get sanctioned with 6 points if they don't cancel the $1,3 million indebted with Olympiakos