-says player can be considered ‘outside agent’
The Guyana Football Federation (GFF) has dismissed an appeal by Anns Grove United Football Club (AGUFC) against Western Tigers Football Club (WTFC) for fielding an ineligible player, stating that following an extensive investigation, the player in question, Rondell Peters, despite not being on the match-day roster, is a member of the team’s roster and can be considered an “outside agent.”
This was disclosed in an official correspondence, which was sent to Ann’s Grove Secretary, Dellon Adams, on March 29 and signed by GFF General Secretary Ian Alves.
According to the correspondence, “Investigation into the complaint of the AGUFC has confirmed that, on Match Day 4 (Western Tigers vs Ann’s Grove United FC) player Rondell Peters did enter the pitch while not being on the official list for that match. This action by Western Tigers FC constituted a breach of Rule 4.4. We note that the player is a registered player of the Western Tigers FC (WTFC), but was not however, on the club’s ‘game day roster’ for the match in question. This confirmation therefore rules out the AGUFC allegation that the player was an “illegal player.”
The missive further stated, “In this regard, we draw your attention to Law 3 of the ‘FIFA Laws of the Game’, which indicates that Rondell Peters, in this case, can be considered as an “outside agent.” The WTFC is therefore guilty of the infringement of Rule 4.4 of the Elite League Rules & Regulations and not Rule 2.21, as the AGUFC suggests. In the absence of a specific penalty in the Elite League Rules & Regulations for the infringement as committed, and after much internal deliberations, inclusive of consulting the GFF Statutes Article 60.1, the Elite League management team has decided that the Western Tigers FC be given a severe reprimand as a first and final warning for the infringement, any recurrence of which would result in a much harsher penalty being applied to the club. All Elite League Clubs are expected to adhere to the Elite League Rules & Regulations in order to maintain the integrity of the tournament and ensure fair play.”
According to the International Football Association Board (IFAB), who are the independent guardians of association football, ‘Law 3: The Players’ states in paragraph 7 that an ‘outside agent’ is “anyone not named on the team list as a player, substitute, or team official is an outside agent.”
It further stated, “If a team official, substitute, substituted or sent-off player, or outside agent enters the field of play, the referee must: (1) only stop play if there is interference with play; (2) have the person removed when play stops; and (3) take appropriate disciplinary action.”
Interestingly, Paragraph 1 of ‘Law 3: The Players’ states, “If the competition rules state that all players and substitutes must be named before kick-off and a team starts a match with fewer than eleven players, only the players and substitutes named on the team list may take part in the match upon their arrival.”
The aforesaid rather aligns with Section 2.22 of the Elite League’s Rules and Regulations, which is titled ‘Illegal Player’, and states, “An illegal player is a player not properly registered with the Elite League and/or the GFF and does not appear on the team roster. Any club using an illegal player shall forfeit 3-0 all games in which the illegal player(s) plays and lose 3 points per illegal player per game.”
Section 2.23 of the said rules also states, “A maximum of 18 players may dress for a game (this is the game day roster).”
The incident occurred after Western Tigers fielded Peters, who was officially not on their match-day squad of 18 players. Peters entered the match in the 71st minute, according to the official Elite League post-match summary, and played for several minutes before the officials, upon realising the error, removed him from the field.
At the time of his participation in the match, the Western Tigers were comfortably in control at 4-0 and eventually won the match by the same score.
Meanwhile, Anns Grove on March 3, filed an official protest via Secretary Adams. The GFF, via General Secretary Alves, during subsequent correspondence on March 23 to Anns Grove President Raul Jerrick stated, “Good day, President Jerrick. Sorry for not sending a written response yet. The player is registered with the Western Tigers FC in their EL [Elite League] 25. However, he was indeed not on the game-day roster and should not have taken the pitch. Nonetheless, the investigation showed that the match officials erred in allowing him on the pitch, even though he was removed as soon as they realised the error. Fortunately, it was also the general view that his short period on the pitch did not affect the outcome of the match. Since the club was only partly responsible for the contravention of the rule, the club is to be issued a stern warning letter with dire consequences for a repeat offence. We trust that, in the spirit of the game, AGUFC, like the GFF Secretariat, sees this as appropriate disciplinary action under the peculiar circumstances.”
AGUFC subsequently filed an official appeal of the aforesaid decision on March 25.
