Gartcairn 'disgusted' as 15-point deduction and fine dished out amid ineligible player dispute

Gartcairn have blasted the West of Scotland League for imposing a 15-point deduction and £500 fine on the club over the fielding of an ineligible player, branding the decision 'disgusting'.

The Airdrie-based club dispute that the player, who they do not wish to name, was ineligible and claim they have been victims of the SFA's new player registration system 'Comet', which was introduced over the summer.

Gartcairn claim to have a player registration document for the player but that the SFA themselves have no evidence of any such documentation.

It also seems that Gartcairn themselves ended up flagging up the issue to the league after questioning why the player involved was down as a trialist in a recent cup match.

The MTC Park club, who have now dropped to second bottom of the West of Scotland Premier Division as a result, have released a 750-word statement slamming the decision and the lack of guidance on the new process for registering players.

It read: "The club is disgusted to announce that we have been deducted 15 points along with a £500 fine for playing an ineligible player in five WOSFL league games this season.

"We strongly deny this and have strong evidence to show that the player was actually signed after being purchased from another club.

"The West of Scotland Football League committee are in position to help all member clubs avoid making mistakes or supporting any wrong doings wherever possible, however, in this case although several pieces of evidence were shown and the committee agreed there was a huge level of doubt, but they had no option to rule against the club as in the constitution it's black or white to whether a player is ineligible or not.

"We are very disappointed that our association are not