Goytre deducted 15-points as league leaders plunge to mid-table
Abertillery, Wales 13 November 2021. Ardal Leagues South East match between Abertillery Bluebirds and Goytre AFC. Credit: Will Cheshire
Former league leaders of the Ardal South East, Goytre have been handed a 15-point deduction for fielding an ineligible player.
The table has drastically changed with the Penperlleni-based side dropping seven places from first to eighth.
Nathan Cadette’s side are now 15 points behind new leaders Abergavenny Town and 12-points off of Abertillery Bluebirds, who occupy a play-off spot.
As well as a points deduction, they have also been removed from the Ardal League Cup quarter-finals, where they were scheduled to face Trethomas Bluebirds on February 12.
“We feel we’ve been done over, and the players feel very disillusioned after all the hard work of getting to the top of the table,” said club secretary Simon Ritter to the Abergavenny Chronicle.
“We’re very frustrated. We’ve admitted the breach, but none of our mitigation has been taken into consideration. We were only fined £150, but is 15 points fair given how many minutes the lad has played?”
It is believed that the player was registered for a club to play youth level back in August 2020, though Goytre say they were unaware of this.
The unnamed player has been an unused substitute in five Ardal League matches, as well as a Cup fixture.
Goytre say they submitted ‘mitigating evidence’ to the disciplinary panel last week but were found to have contravened the FAW’s Rule 62, which prevents any player from taking part in their matches whilst having an active eligibility request from another youth team.
The Gwent club have said they are now discussing whether to take legal advice as well as lodging an appeal against the decision.
