West of Scotland League (WoSFL) chiefs have lifted the lid on their decision to clear Kilwinning Rangers of fielding an ineligible player on the opening day of the season.
The Ayrshire outfit were found to have 'no case to answer' after skipper Kevin Nicoll played the full 90 minutes in a 3-1 win against Irvine Meadow on July 30 – despite SFA documents showing he had a two-game ban to serve.
Ayrshire Football News wrote to the governing body and WoSFL on Monday, August 15 – two days after the ruling – to ask for clarity on the matter.
And this week WoSFL general secretary John Dalton responded, confirming that Kilwinning had been incorrectly advised by the SFA that Nicoll could play and, as a result, it was decided that no disciplinary action should be taken against the club.
He said: "Prior to the start of the new season, all club secretaries were invited to a meeting which included a presentation by the Scottish FA disciplinary department that explained the processes clubs should undertake to ensure that their players were eligible to participate in matches.
"Part of this process included an offer from the Scottish FA for clubs to contact their disciplinary department when checking the eligibility of any new signings to ensure that the player didn't have any outstanding suspensions from their time with their previous club.
"In their response to the allegation, Kilwinning Rangers FC provided a copy of an email from the Scottish FA that clearly stipulated that the player in question had no suspensions carried over from his previous club and was therefore eligible to play in the match.
"This evidence was double checked with the Scottish FA who admitted their error in providing incorrect information to the club.
"Therefore, after considering all the evidence available, the discipline secretary determined that although Kilwinning Rangers FC had played an ineligible player in the match, this was through no fault of the club who had undertaken all the correct procedures to check the players availability prior to the game and as they had been incorrectly advised by the Scottish FA, no disciplinary action should be taken against the club."
Mr Dalton went on to say there is a precedence for this outcome as last season the same determination was made following an allegation against Arthurlie FC in similar circumstances.
It's anticipated Nicoll's two-game ban will be reapplied in due course by an SFA judicial panel.
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