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UPDATE: BVIFA hands out suspensions for Sugar Boys

- six points to be deducted from VG team at end of National League
Sugar Boys will have six points deducted from their points total at the end of the 2012-2013 National Football League as one of the penalties for walking off the field before the conclusion of a game at the A.O. Shirley Ground in November. Photo: Charlie Jackson/VINO
Rosters are submitted before competition and players listed on team sheets ahead of each game for verification purposes. Photo: Charlie Jackson/VINO
Rosters are submitted before competition and players listed on team sheets ahead of each game for verification purposes. Photo: Charlie Jackson/VINO
Identification cards have been in use for 30 years or more across the world in all levels of football to help Officials verify players.
Identification cards have been in use for 30 years or more across the world in all levels of football to help Officials verify players.
ROAD TOWN, Tortola- Sugar Boys will have six points deducted from their points total at the end of the 2012-2013 National Football League as one of the penalties for walking off the field before the conclusion of a game at the A.O. Shirley Ground in November.

This is according to the BVI Football Association (BVIFA).

Virgin Gorda's Sugar Boys had abandoned last month’s Terry Evans Cup Knockout Tournament championship match with Islanders in the 45th minute following a controversial referee’s call that awarded a goal to Islanders.

 The BVIFA's Disciplinary Committee, which recently met, ruled that the Sugar Boys will have six points deducted from its points total at the end of the 2012-2013 National Football League.

Additionally, players Jairo Morris and Leslie Ambrose received a suspended one game suspension while Terry Nanton, who allegedly expressed no remorse for his action, was suspended for one match with immediate effect.

Several other players who attended the meeting and expressed remorse were not suspended, the BVIFA said in a press release.

See previous story posted on November 10, 2012

VG's Sugar Boys given green light to play in Terry Evans Cup Final

Virgin Gorda's Sugar Boys have been cleared by the BVI Football Association to contest the final of the Terry Evans Cup on Sunday November 11, 2012 on the A.O. Shirley Ground.

Following a 2-0 defeat in their semi-final clash with the Sugar Boys, the Ballstars had lodged a protest and a meeting was convened by the BVI Football Association today, Saturday November 10, 2012, to sort out exactly who would be facing the Islanders in the Terry Evans Cup Final.

Virgin Islands News Online was just informed that the BVIAA's Competition's Committe, after meeting with representatives of the teams involved, decided to allow the Sugar Boys to contest the final.

See earlier story below

In 1871, Hearts of Scotland reached the English F.A. Cup Final only to withdraw due to the costs of travelling to London. At the 1950 world cup, players were banned from playing barefoot after the Indian team played without boots in the 1948 Olympics. Teams have been thrown out of competitions early in qualifying rounds and of course individual players have been suspended from Finals. An under-17 Haitian team was even thrown out of World Cup qualifying due a suspected outbreak of cholera in 2011.

Back in August of this year an Under 13 team playing in an Indo – Canadian soccer Association Tournament was subsequently thrown out having won their semi final after the losing coach lodged a complaint. The transgression, based on too many “imported” players had been over looked until that point.

However, research here shows that not in living memory has a team been allowed to reach a senior domestic cup final and then be thrown out for fielding an allegedly ineligible player in a semi-final despite rosters being submitted before the tournament for verification.

That though has changed now as the Sugar Boys reached the Final of the Terry Evans Cup, but following a protest from the Ballstars, who lost 2-0 to the Sugar Boys in the semi final, have now been unofficially “banned “from taking part.

As no one from the BVIFA was available, quite rightly ahead of a final decision, to make an official comment, it remains unclear whether the alleged offense was to field a player in the semi-final who was not on the roster, or whether a player on the roster had not gone through a proper transfer process.

A glance at the team sheets from the semi-final doesn’t throw any light on the matter, but sources have confirmed the player in question played for the Sugar Boys in the previous round, a 1-0 defeat of One Love and also played a big part in the Sugar Boys winning the Wendol Williams Cup.

It could therefore be argued that the Ballstars should play One Love for a place in the Final, but then what happens if the Islanders protest the Wendol Williams Cup Final, which they lost 5-0?

Research shows that there have been a lot of transgressions from multiple teams in past competitions with players using different names and nothing has been said as playing the game has been deemed as more important, but now the time to instigate ID cards for all rostered players in each team has well and truly come.

ID cards have been in use across the World in Youth and Senior Soccer since the 1970’s and provides a full proof method of player identification before a match starts. The Match Officials simply collect the cards from the manager, coach or player as he checks their boots and other items and matches the club name, photo and shirt number with the player and job done.

Software templates are easily downloadable from various websites and the rule is no card no game, simple!

A meeting has been called for Saturday morning at which it is hoped a resolution can be arrived at in time for the Terry Evans Cup Final to go ahead on Sunday evening, with the possibility of four teams turning up in a protest of their own. Whatever the outcome of the meeting and the integrity of the game must be held above all ego’s and personal resentments, there are a lot of issues the BVIFA needs to sort out and quickly ahead of the proposed start dates for the two group National League.

Another issue that may soon rear its ugly head is that of residency, whereby players are supposed to reside within the Territory. All these rules are sent out to all teams ahead of time and need to be applied firmly, fairly and in a timely fashion to all parties to ensure these issues don’t reappear going forward.

Giant strides have been taken by BVIFA President Andy Bickerton in trying to reform the Association, especially with the success of Youth Programmes and getting players to college, but what message is being sent to the future players of tomorrow when the “adults” struggle to get their acts together?

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