Albion Rovers kicked out of Irn Bru Cup
General Sport - Leaders Sport Summit 2012 - Stamford Bridge - 11/10/12 (From left to right) Karen Espelund, Executive Committee Member of UEFA, Neil Doncaster, chief Executive Officer of the Scottish Premier league and Heather Rabbatts, Non-Executive Director of The FA during a talk called "Governance: Are you serious?" Mandatory Credit: Action Images / Paul Childs Livepic
Albion Rovers have felt the full force of the SPFL by being booted out of the Irn Bru Cup for fielding an ineligible player in their penalty shoot out win over Spartans.
Rovers ‘won’ the game on the pitch thanks to a 5-4 penalty shoot out but after an SPFL probe Spartans have been awarded the tie on a 3-0 away win. Rovers were also fined £2,000.
The action by the SPFL is in complete contrast to their treatment of Rangers (IL) who fielded ineligible players over a 12 year period.
In July the Supreme Court ruled that payments to 55 players were on side contracts rather than through Employment Benefit Trusts.
According to SPL and SPFL rules details of all payments other than expenses must be detailed on contracts.
For over a decade players such as Barry Ferguson, Alex Rae, Billy Dodds and Steven Thomson were ineligible to play for Rangers (IL) but the SPFL decided to consult a QC who told them that they had no mechanism to discipline Rangers (IL).
Andrew Dickson, who administered the shadow contracts and kept their details back from the SPL and SFA has recently been voted onto the SFA Congress by the member SPFL clubs.
Spartans will now host Linfield in the second round of the Irn-Bru Cup
CLICK HERE for the SPFL statement.