Here is the sixth edition of this season's 'Worcester League News'.

Hi everyone,

We had a Management Committee on Monday evening and I'm afraid a large part of the meeting was taken up with registration queries, especially problems caused by the dreaded emergency signings which have resulted in points deductions and fines for several clubs and players. Details are given below but I must re-iterate to you the dangers of signing on players without making the necessary checks first.

I'm afraid you just cannot rely on players to give you the right answers when you ask them if a) they have signed on for any other Worcester League club in the current season and b) whether they are under any County FA suspension. I know many clubs are forced into emergency signings on a Sunday morning to make sure you're fielding a full side but this really is a catch 22 situation - if you don't field a full team you'll get fined, but if you take a chance and sign someone on without making the necessary checks, you're likely to lose points if it subsequently comes to light that you've played an ineligible player !

So what can you do to avoid this situation ? Well, the first thing to do is contact Ted at a reasonable hour (I'll come on to that in a moment !) and he will be able to tell you very quickly whether the player(s) you would like to sign are - a) already signed for someone else or b) currently under County suspension. In fact you can check whether someone is suspended or not yourself by looking at the WFA website -www.worcestershirefa.com- click on 'Governance' and you will see the links to all the currently suspended players under 'Related Documents.'

Now Ted is a little fed up ! - with clubs contacting him at what he considers to be unreasonable hours - would you want to be woken up at 8 o'clock on a Sunday morning to answer a registration query ?? !! So what the Management Committee had decided is the following;

Ted will not be available on a Sunday morning before 9.00 a.m. and then will only see anyone after that time by appointment !
So please do not knock on his door on a Sunday morning and expect a civil answer ! Please ring him on 01905.##See Email## after 9.00 a.m. with your question and as always, he will be very helpful - your co-operation is appreciated !!

One final thing on registrations - if you are signing a player who has recently completed a WFA suspension, Ted needs the WFA receipt no. before he can confirm the registration.

Ok, so here are the results of the recent Disciplinary sub-committee meetings; -

Alma F.C. - Club played Rodrico Pastore and Fabio Barreto against West Malvern TC on 14 November whilst both players were still under WFA suspension. Club deducted 3 points as per Rule 8 (m) (i) and a further 3 points as per Rule 8 (m) (ii). Both players reported to WFA for playing whilst under suspension.

Malvern Rangers F.C. - a) Club failed to fulfil Sunday League Premier Division fixture v Arrow 2000 on 10 October - fined £100 as per Rule 10 (f).
b)  Club withdrew Sunday Premier Division team from the League - fined £200 as per Rule 14(b).
c)   Double signing of player Matthew Smart (previously signed for West Malvern TC). Club found not guilty - player fined £25 as per Rule 8 (f) (ii).
d)  Double signing of player Thomas Clack (previously signed for Keyz04). Club not guilty - player fined £25 as per League Rule 8(f) (ii).

Wessie F.C. - Club played Steve Keay against Keyz04 on 31 October. Player already signed for M.T.F.C. Athletic F.C. Club deducted 3 points as per Rule 8 (m) (i) and a further 3 points as per Rule 8 (m) (ii). Player fined £25 as per Rule 8 (f) (ii).

YM Rangers F.C. - Club admitted playing Mark Wilks v Worcester Raiders on 23 October whilst knowing he was under WFA suspension. Club also admitted falsifying the match report form showing another player's name instead of Wilks. Club found guilty of both offences and fined £100 as per Rule 11 (a) and (c). Also 3 points deducted under Rule 8 (m) (ii) as they lost the match 8-3. WFA notified that Mark Wilks played whilst under suspension.

The Management Committee was particularly concerned to have to deal with a case of a team sheet being falsified. This offence is deemed to be one of the worst that could happen. If any other club is found guilty of doing this in future, you can expect severe penalties - you have been warned !!

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