Three Ayrshire clubs in the West of Scotland League (WoSFL) have been handed points deductions for fielding ineligible players.
Second Division outfit Ardeer Thistle this morning confirmed they have been docked three points and fined £100 for playing a player who was still signed to his previous club.
This afternoon, Third Division Dalry Thistle revealed they've been handed the same punishment for exceeding the allowed number of trialists in a 3-1 defeat to Lanark United on Saturday, August 6.
A three-point deduction and £100 fine is also heading the way of Whitletts Victoria who fielded suspended striker Jordan Boyd in a 2-0 home win over St Roch's on the opening day of the season.
All three clubs have held their hands up to administrative oversights but they are far from alone on that front.
An unusually high number of WoSFL clubs have been subject to player probes just weeks into the new season.
Muirkirk and Kirkintilloch Rob Roy have been kicked out of the South Challenge Cup for fielding an ineligible player in their respective first-round ties on Saturday.
Premier Division side Arthurlie have been docked three points and fined £100 for playing suspended defender Callum Shields in an opening day league defeat at home to Clydebank.
Kilwinning Rangers played suspended skipper Kevin Nicoll in a curtain-raiser against Irvine Meadow but were cleared of any wrongdoing and avoided sanctions due to an SFA admin error.
The spate of investigations and punishments has led to much online debate between fans and club managers alike.
Darvel boss Mick Kennedy tweeted: "I know it’s clubs responsibility, but there has obviously been an issue with the check process. Surely it would have made sense to fine clubs rather than take points off for games that weren’t affected by the breach."
Ayrshire Football News has contacted the West of Scotland League for comment.
Ardeer statement...
"We are disappointed to announce that the club has been deducted three points and handed a £100 fine for fielding an ineligible player.
"This comes as we were of the understanding the player in question was a free agent, as his previous club's manager told us, as well as the player not signing any forms for his previous club this season.
"We then discovered that a document with the players' name had been processed by his previous club, technically making him a signed player.
"We have been sanctioned because we went on good faith and never checked the SFA database and we accept this."
Dalry statement
"We are disappointed to announce that we have, as a club, been deducted three points and fined £100 by the association for exceeding the allowed number of trialists listed in our squad during the recent away match which we lost at Lanark United.
"This was a simple admin error after we assumed incorrectly that two of our Under-20s squad had been registered when they hadn't.
"At no point did Dalry Thistle attempt to gain an unfair advantage by taking this action. This was simply a genuine attempt to promote the newly-formed pathway at the club.
"A harsh punishment in our view, however, we have to accept the rules and move on. We are gutted for the management, players and supporters and despite this taking a shine off what was a decent start to the season, we have to accept the sanction and move on."
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