SIX footballers have been given lengthy bans after false reports were sent in for a local sunday league game.
The Autotype Upper Thames Valley League originally fined JET FC and Burford United more then £200 apiece and banned a total of 22 players after incorrect teamsheets were submitted for a Division 2 game at the end of last season.
On appeal to a joint meeting of the Oxfordshire and Berks & Bucks FAs, however, the fines were slashed.
And the suspensions were also lifted - or they were as far as Culham-based JET and Burford were concerned.
But just before the start of this season, the UTV said that they would not be accepting registration applications from six players - Ken Oswin, Simon Gibbs and Michael Ody from Burford, and Bob Brooks, Gary Nixon and Markus Gammelin from JET.
"It's a complete joke," said Gibbs, Burford's secretary.
"The UTV exploited the wording of the original appeal decision, which said that there was no reason why the players should 'not be allowed to complete registration forms'."
"I've spoken to an OFA official who said that they were disgusted by what the UTV did."
Gibbs added: "I think that they didn't like losing the first appeal. The three players who turned up to represent the club at the original appeal have been banned, and that is unfair. The controversy arose after only eight JET players turned up to play Burford. JET forfeited the game and borrowed three Burford subs so that they could play a friendly, which Burford won 2-0. But the clubs entered it as a league result.
"What we did has probably been done before but not been spotted," Gibbs said. "It was wrong, we admit, but it has been blown out of proportion."
The six men had been banned for a season, but Burford met with the league last week and their trio will now be allowed to play again in February. JET did not not attend the meeting.
UTV press officer Mick Day said: "The result was concocted to save one club a fine for calling off. It was done with the collusion of the ringleaders and the ref.
"There were people on the UTV who wanted to throw the clubs out, but thankfully the liberal view won through."
"Our season is ruined now. We could only get ten out for our first game - luckily we won because the opposition had nine - but we had to call off a recent game because we just didn't have any players."
The issue should be resolved at a meeting next week.
The meeting was scheduled for last night, but was cancelled at the last moment.
Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
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