Scotland Soccer club expelled from competition
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greensleevss
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Scotland Soccer club expelled from competition
Below is an artical form http://www.thisisnorthscotland.co.uk Do you thing the ruling committee was right or did the team get the shaft?
GRIEVING FOOTBALL TEAM THROWN OUT OF TOURNEY IN FUNERAL ROW
A football team has been thrown out of a cup competition for refusing to play on the same day as the funeral of the father of two team members.
It is the second year in succession that Strathspey Thistle have been thrown out of the Grill League Cup for not fulfilling a fixture because of bereavement.
The Grantown club, who won the cup in 2002, were meant to line up against Forres Thistle for a place in the quarter-finals of the competition on Saturday.
However, they did not put out a team as the game was on the same day as the funeral.
Bob Donaldson, father of goalkeeper Calum and forward Ewan, died in a road accident. on the road between Carrbridge and Kinveachy, just north of Aviemore.
Forres had agreed to the game's postponement and said they would be happy to play the fixture on another date at a suitable venue.
When the committee of the North Regional Junior Football Association met on Sunday, however, they decided to expel Strathspey.
Incredibly, the same thing happened last year when manager Donly McLeod suffered a family bereavement the day before a quarter-final tie against Buchanhaven Hearts.
On that occasion, the club asked for a postponement because Mr McLeod and his brother were handling all of the team's affairs, including the registration of six new players in time for the game as they had nine others injured.
They argued they were unable to register the players in time because of the bereavement and therefore would not be able to take part in the match.
The committee decided it was not an acceptable reason for not fulfilling the fixture and awarded the tie to Buchanhaven.
This week, a similar decision has been reached, with the NRJFA saying the match could still have been played as it was scheduled for a different time from the funeral.
Last night, Mr McLeod criticised the judgment, and stood by the club's reasons for not taking part in the game.
He said: "We have a young team and a lot of our players are under 20 so they weren't mentally right to play football after going to a funeral.
"Several of the players knew the boys' father so there was no way we could have expected them to turn out for the game.
"We spoke to Forres Thistle about it and, in fairness to them, they said they were happy to play us on another date.
"All we were looking for was a bit of understanding and compassion about our situation. It isn't an excuse because we had plenty of players, it is just that they were all at the funeral."
NRJFA secretary Jack Whitehead refused to be drawn on why the committee decided to throw Strathspey out of the competition.
He said: "I have nothing to add and what I feel doesn't come into it because the decision has been made by the committee."
Strathspey's plight has been made worse by the news that they do not have a right to appeal against the ruling.
They were able to appeal last year to the Scottish Junior Football Association in Glasgow, although they ultimately lost.
This time, though, they have been told they cannot appeal, as the NRJFA's committee has invoked a clause in the game's rules to cancel any rights they would have had.
Article 68 of the Scottish Football Association's articles of association states: "Appeals which relate to any matter affecting the result of a cup-tie or which would interrupt the playing of a competition shall not be entertained."
GRIEVING FOOTBALL TEAM THROWN OUT OF TOURNEY IN FUNERAL ROW
A football team has been thrown out of a cup competition for refusing to play on the same day as the funeral of the father of two team members.
It is the second year in succession that Strathspey Thistle have been thrown out of the Grill League Cup for not fulfilling a fixture because of bereavement.
The Grantown club, who won the cup in 2002, were meant to line up against Forres Thistle for a place in the quarter-finals of the competition on Saturday.
However, they did not put out a team as the game was on the same day as the funeral.
Bob Donaldson, father of goalkeeper Calum and forward Ewan, died in a road accident. on the road between Carrbridge and Kinveachy, just north of Aviemore.
Forres had agreed to the game's postponement and said they would be happy to play the fixture on another date at a suitable venue.
When the committee of the North Regional Junior Football Association met on Sunday, however, they decided to expel Strathspey.
Incredibly, the same thing happened last year when manager Donly McLeod suffered a family bereavement the day before a quarter-final tie against Buchanhaven Hearts.
On that occasion, the club asked for a postponement because Mr McLeod and his brother were handling all of the team's affairs, including the registration of six new players in time for the game as they had nine others injured.
They argued they were unable to register the players in time because of the bereavement and therefore would not be able to take part in the match.
The committee decided it was not an acceptable reason for not fulfilling the fixture and awarded the tie to Buchanhaven.
This week, a similar decision has been reached, with the NRJFA saying the match could still have been played as it was scheduled for a different time from the funeral.
Last night, Mr McLeod criticised the judgment, and stood by the club's reasons for not taking part in the game.
He said: "We have a young team and a lot of our players are under 20 so they weren't mentally right to play football after going to a funeral.
"Several of the players knew the boys' father so there was no way we could have expected them to turn out for the game.
"We spoke to Forres Thistle about it and, in fairness to them, they said they were happy to play us on another date.
"All we were looking for was a bit of understanding and compassion about our situation. It isn't an excuse because we had plenty of players, it is just that they were all at the funeral."
NRJFA secretary Jack Whitehead refused to be drawn on why the committee decided to throw Strathspey out of the competition.
He said: "I have nothing to add and what I feel doesn't come into it because the decision has been made by the committee."
Strathspey's plight has been made worse by the news that they do not have a right to appeal against the ruling.
They were able to appeal last year to the Scottish Junior Football Association in Glasgow, although they ultimately lost.
This time, though, they have been told they cannot appeal, as the NRJFA's committee has invoked a clause in the game's rules to cancel any rights they would have had.
Article 68 of the Scottish Football Association's articles of association states: "Appeals which relate to any matter affecting the result of a cup-tie or which would interrupt the playing of a competition shall not be entertained."
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Gunner18
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speaking from a moral standpoint i think that the team should NOT have been expelled, but then again rules are rules and i know that the europeans are very strict when it comes to fixtures, very rarely (if ever) are teams granted permission to change the date or venue of a fixture for any reason. several times Manchester United has played on the anniversary date of the Munich air disaster (where several players were killed and then manager, Sir Matt Busby was twice given his last rights, but still survived) so from a moral standpoint i agree with the club, but from the perspective of the game, i have to agree with the NRJFA
STRAIGHT