Wednesday, February 28, 2007

AFC Wimbledon's point deduction: Update

This is also covered in the original AFCW post, but I thought I should put it at the top as well.

Mitchamboy points to a Parliamentary Early Day Motion (scroll to number 992) that you can encourage your MP to sign. The text is:

PUNISHMENT BY THE FOOTBALL AUTHORITIES AGAINST AFC WIMBLEDON27:2:07

Siobhain McDonagh

Alan Keen

Bob Russell

Mr John Greenway

Mr Clive Betts

Christine Russell

* 16

Clive EffordMr Fraser KempMr Stephen Hepburn

Mr Andrew LoveMrs Joan HumbleLaura Moffatt

Mrs Sharon HodgsonMr Graham AllenMr Alan Meale

Ian Lucas

That this House regrets that AFC Wimbledon of the Ryman League Premier Division has been deducted 18 points, fined and thrown out of the FA Trophy and the Surrey Senior Cup for registering a player without also completing an International Transfer Certificate, even through his previous club, Cardiff City, play in the Championship, which is in the English league structure, and he had retired from that club due to injury; believes that this is an excessive punishment for a minor administrative error, as the club sought no advantage and there was no dishonesty, and few people at a small community club would have realised he needed an international transfer; further notes that the error was only discovered when the player was given his first yellow card, and that if he had been a dirty player the mistake would have been uncovered earlier and the punishment would have been smaller; also notes that AFC Wimbledon was established when local fans set up their own community club after another injustice, the football authorities' decision to allow Wimbledon FC to move its franchise to Milton Keynes in 2002; congratulates AFC Wimbledon for regularly attracting crowds of several thousands and for rising from the bottom of the football pyramid to be just three promotions from entering the Football League; and regrets that if the deduction of 18 points is not reversed they will fall from top to only 13th in the Ryman League Premier Division and their fans will be robbed of the chance of celebrating promotion.

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Wembley

As for the national stadium, I'm not even going to say anything. I just wanted to put it out there for others to point fingers.

Barrow vs. Chester

This was pointed out to me by InsiderInformation, but I recall seeing it somewhere other than here, from which I quote:

In 2001 Barrow and Chester were drawn against each other in the 4th qualifying round of the FA Cup. However both were owned by Stephen Vaughan. This was not against the rules, but it did mean that the teams could not play each other.

Vaughan then sold his share holding to Mr Brown - a painter working on the Chester stadium. The FA held a full and detailed enquiry, declared themselves totally satisfied, and allowed the match to go ahead. Two days after the game Mr Brown sold his shares back to Mr Vaughan. The FA took no further action at all.


***

Maybe the suits were out to smooth Chester's progress through the FA Cup? I've no idea how this should have been resolved, but I'd have to label it ridiculous.

Steve McClaren

Bluedaddio suggested the appointment of Steve McClaren as England manager as a farce worthy of consideration.

McClaren, of course, had had a good run in the UEFA cup with Middlesbrough. In the league... not so much. The FA, as late as April, were reputed to have a shortlist including McClaren, Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, Sam Allardyce, Alan Curbishley and Martin O'Neill. It was a painful saga, even for those of us watching with amused neutrality.

Here things become a little hazy. It was alleged that Scolari was offered the England job but then turned it down citing media intrusion. However, he later apologised for suggesting that was the case. In the end, the FA opted for McClaren, who at least had the important quality of being English.

***

McClaren has taken up where Sven-Goran Eriksson left off in providing uninspiring, at-most-halfway-competent team selections, formations and performances. It's hardly a first offence for the FA on this front - I'd cite Taylor, Keegan and Hoddle off the top of my head as desperately poor choices for the job. Yet it's a job nobody in their right mind would want to do. Is it the case that England fans have unrealistic expectations of what their team should achieve? How much difference does the coach really make to the team? How would you have done things differently?

Javier Mascherano

I must confess to being a little confused about the controversy surrounding Mascherano's moves this season. Let's take the easy one first, the transfer from West Ham to Liverpool. FIFA rules apparently forbid a player from playing competitive games for more than two clubs in a season (where a season runs from July to June). The first club, Brazilian side Corinthians - being from South America - have a different season, so FIFA decided it wasn't a problem.

Now, the first one is more confusing. It seems* that Mascherano (and his compatriot Carlos Tevez) had registrations held not by West Ham but by Media Sports Investment, who were involved in a take-over bid for the Hammers at the time. Indeed, this third-party involvement was one of the reasons behind the delay in the Premier League allowing the second transfer to go through.

I can see there's something dubious about a player's registration not being held by a club, but I'd be grateful if anyone could put my uneasy feeling into words and maybe explain what's going on there.

* i.e., Wikipedia says.

Altrincham's points deduction

In discussion of AFC Wimbledon's points deduction, much has been made of Altrincham's almost-identical punishment last season.

James Robinson came to Altrincham from Accrington Stanley. Before that, he'd played in Iceland. He didn't feature in any Accrington games, but - as I understand - it was they who should have obtained international clearance but didn't. Once the error came to light, Altrincham were docked 18 points, which would have been enough to demote them had other clubs (Canvey Island and Scarborough) not been forcibly or voluntarily relegated in their place.

***

For me, if AFC's punishment was unjust, Altrincham's borders on the ridiculous. Being docked 18 points for your own oversight is bad enough, but for someone else's error? Come on now. Luckily, Altrincham escaped relegation, but the case is being used as a precedent for the AFC process (in a different league).

Bury's FA Cup elimination

Bury eliminated from FA Cup

Bury were eliminated from the FA Cup after fielding an ineligible player in the second round. Stephen Turnbull was on loan from Hartlepool when he appeared against Chester in a replay. As I understand it, he was ineligible because Hartlepool competed in the second round; Bury assumed that since Hartlepool lost their game, Turnbull was available for the replay, and confirmed this verbally with Hartlepool - however, the paperwork wasn't completed in time. As soon as Bury realised their mistake, they contacted the FA to admit it; for coming clean, they were eliminated from the cup and replaced by Chester.

***

Again, I feel this is a trifle on the harsh side. I think a fair outcome would be to replay the match. Any thoughts?

AFC Wimbledon's point deduction

Let's start here.

AFC Wimbledon signed Jermaine Darlington from a non-league outfit earlier this season. Unknown to AFC, his previous registration had been with Cardiff City under the Welsh FA, requiring them to tick a box on the registration form - which they failed to do, making Darlington ineligible for somewhere in the region of a dozen games. The mistake only came to light after Darlington was booked.

As a result, AFC were thrown out of the FA Trophy, the Surrey Senior Cup and docked 18 points in the Ryman League - those gained in games where Darlington played.

---

My view on this is that the punishment for a minor clerical error is hugely disproportionate. Yes, AFC inadvertently broke the rules - in letter, for sure, but hardly in spirit. They certainly gained no advantage from it. My feeling is that three points and the cup eliminations would be about right. Anyone else have an opinion?

***

EDIT: Mitchamboy points to a Parliamentary Early Day Motion (scroll to number 992) that you can encourage your MP to sign. The text is:

PUNISHMENT BY THE FOOTBALL AUTHORITIES AGAINST AFC WIMBLEDON27:2:07

Siobhain McDonagh

Alan Keen

Bob Russell

Mr John Greenway

Mr Clive Betts

Christine Russell

* 16

Clive EffordMr Fraser KempMr Stephen Hepburn

Mr Andrew LoveMrs Joan HumbleLaura Moffatt

Mrs Sharon HodgsonMr Graham AllenMr Alan Meale

Ian Lucas

That this House regrets that AFC Wimbledon of the Ryman League Premier Division has been deducted 18 points, fined and thrown out of the FA Trophy and the Surrey Senior Cup for registering a player without also completing an International Transfer Certificate, even through his previous club, Cardiff City, play in the Championship, which is in the English league structure, and he had retired from that club due to injury; believes that this is an excessive punishment for a minor administrative error, as the club sought no advantage and there was no dishonesty, and few people at a small community club would have realised he needed an international transfer; further notes that the error was only discovered when the player was given his first yellow card, and that if he had been a dirty player the mistake would have been uncovered earlier and the punishment would have been smaller; also notes that AFC Wimbledon was established when local fans set up their own community club after another injustice, the football authorities' decision to allow Wimbledon FC to move its franchise to Milton Keynes in 2002; congratulates AFC Wimbledon for regularly attracting crowds of several thousands and for rising from the bottom of the football pyramid to be just three promotions from entering the Football League; and regrets that if the deduction of 18 points is not reversed they will fall from top to only 13th in the Ryman League Premier Division and their fans will be robbed of the chance of celebrating promotion.

Welcome!

Welcome to The Sweet FA, a blog devoted to the antics of some sleepy old men in Soho Square. Has your team been on the wrong end of an unjust punishment? Have you spotted a ridiculous anomaly in the decision-making process? Have you got a fan-driven campaign going on? Let us know.

This forum was inspired by comments in the Guardian sports blog by InsiderInformation and Duncan23 suggesting that a page like this be set up. So thank them, if you like.