WARRINGTON Town could be made to wait to lift the league trophy, should they win it, until long after the season is finished on the pitch.
The news broke shortly after Town’s 3-2 loss to title rivals Northwich Victoria that their opponents are set to be deducted nine points for fielding an ineligible player, a penalty that would put Warrington 19 points clear at the top of the table.
But in a lengthy statement, Northwich have expressed their strong desire to fight what they call an “injustice.”
It read: “Northwich Victoria F.C can confirm that at an F.A Appeal Hearing in Manchester last week the club was deducted nine points from its current League total. This relates to the fielding of goal-keeper Mason Springthorpe whilst ineligible in four league games in September, 2015.
“The Club are disappointed that this matter was leaked to the NLP by a third party when the F.A had not yet made an official announcement.”
Springthorpe’s involvement in an FA Cup tie earlier this season was also a breach of eligibility rules, though Northwich were allowed to continue their participation in that competition due to the FA’s discretion.
The club admitted the breach at a league disciplinary hearing in December and were deducted the nine points won in the four league games that the player had played in and issued a suspended fine.
An appeal was heard last week in Manchester, where the club argued that the penalty was excessive and the league could have applied discretion in regards to the points deduction.
The statement ended: “The Club now intends to proceed to Arbitration under F.A Rule K to seek to overturn the decision to deduct points and due to the length of time that such proceedings can take this may unfortunately have an adverse effect on the seasons completion but the Club considers it has to pursue this matter.
“The Club can assure its players, coaching staff and supporters that they will fight what they perceive as an injustice and will be making no further comment in respect of this matter until the completion of the arbitration process.”
Photo courtesy of Barrie Scholes.
1 Comment
Hopefully just kick on and win the title outright without needing to rely on the points deduction issue.
Three points on Tuesday night will open up a 13 point gap and even with four games in hand they have to win them all and would still trail by a point.