Lydd Town lose appeal against four-point deduction and are relegated from the Southern Counties East Premier Division

Lydd Town have been relegated from the Southern Counties East League Premier Division after losing their appeal against a four-point deduction.

The deduction, imposed after the Lydders were found guilty of fielding an ineligible player, means they are set to play in Division 1 next season, while Snodland Town are reprieved.

Lydd took their case to an FA hearing at Wembley having initially been charged at county level of fielding defender Charlie Dickens in seven matches while he was banned from all football following a misconduct charge picked up playing for Egerton in the Ashford & District Sunday League.

They earned four points in those games - a 5-0 win over Glebe and a goalless draw with Faversham.

It was the start of a run of eight wins in their final 14 games which hauled them out of the relegation zone, having looked doomed for much of the season.

But the deduction sees them relegated by a point.

Lydd argued they didn’t know Dickens was suspended, citing flaws in the Whole Game System, the portal used by clubs.

But an appeal at county level was dismissed and the league subsequently imposed the four-point deduction despite pleas from Egerton that they were solely to blame and Town should not be punished.

Lydd manager Ryan Smith vowed to fight on, calling in the lawyers, while his case made national headlines as he questioned how many other clubs had unwittingly fielded suspended players.

A SCEFL statement said: “Lydd Town were found proven of a league charge of playing an ineligible player during seven Premier Division matches in January and February 2025, under league rule 6.9.

“Lydd picked up a total of four points in two of those games, against Glebe and Faversham Town in February 2025.

“As is their right, Lydd