THE FA have made the unprecedented move of forcing Forest Green Rovers to replay their first round match against Scarborough Athletic.
The news comes after Forest Green’s second round tie away to Blackpool was called off last Friday, the evening before they were set to play on Saturday.
GettyForest Green vs Scarborough will be replayed[/caption]
Forest Green had won their first round tie comprehensively against National League North side Scarborough, beating them 5-2.
But Forest Green owner Dale Vince confirmed that the result was declared null and void because of an admin error between Forest Green and the FA.
The FA found Forest Green to be guilty of fielding an ineligible player in their squad due to him only being on loan.
Forest Green had not notified the FA that they had permission from the player’s parent club to play in the game but have now submitted the required paperwork.
Scarborough will keep 100 per cent of the gate receipts in the replay and Forest Green will not receive accommodation expenses – as per the FA verdict.
The game will be replayed on Tuesday December 12.
Forest Green owner Vince posted on X to update fans and said: “When investigations take place and rulings get announced in football, fans are often left confused as to what actually went on – making them wonder what the hell is happening at their club.
“Our recent charge came about after we failed to tell the FA that we had permission from the player’s home club to be part of our FA Cup squad. They recognised we had approval for the player – but that we had not told them, which was our mistake. In the grand scheme of things this was an admin error, so we appreciate the FA’s acceptance of what happened and their judgement.
FREE BETS – BEST BETTING OFFERS & NEW CUSTOMER BONUSES
“The FA ruled that @safc will keep all the money from the gate for this replay, as is right – and we don’t get travel or accommodation expenses (which are normal). Hopefully this means something good can come from this.”
The tie between Forest Green and Scarborough will be decided on the night without the possibility of a replay if the game is a draw.
So penalties will be used to decide the fixture should the game end in a draw after extra time.
The winner will play Blackpool away the following Tuesday.
Creator – [#item_custom_dc:creator]
