THE Scottish FA yesterday offered St Mirren the right of appeal over their [GBP]25,000 fine by the emergency committee, on the day that Spartans were revealed to have made an administrative error of their own.
David Taylor, the SFA chief executive, informed the St Mirren chairman, Stewart Gilmour, that under article 134.3 of the articles of association, the club are able to contest the fine for failing to list two outfield under-21 players in their squad for the Tennent's Scottish Cup fourth-round tie against Spartans, which ended goalless at City Park.
Provided St Mirren lodge their appeal within seven days, the case will be heard by an appeals board headed by a legally qualified chairman.
In a fresh twist, the SFA confirmed that the referee's report from the replay, which St Mirren won 3-0, noted the failure of Spartans to submit their teamsheet at least an hour before kick-off.
Spartans will now be invited to explain their reasons, which involve the team's coach driver missing his turn-off on the M8, before the governing body decide on a relevant punishment, if any.
Given the furore caused by St Mirren's [GBP]25,000 fine, the SFAwill be under pressure to act on another breach of rules.
Last night, Taylor explained the reasons for granting St Mirren a right of appeal but denied the about-turn was caused by ignorance on the part of the four-man emergency meeting, comprising John McBeth, George Peat, Campbell Ogilvie and John Smith.
"The very nature of the appeals committee means that matters have to be dealt with quickly and, therefore, there is not usually the window of appeal, " he said.
"The decision to allow St Mirren to appeal was not to determine whether the emergency committee's decision was right or wrong, but to ensure natural justice. This is not about overturning the decision, it is about the level of penalty imposed on the club."
With one issue resolved to St Mirren's satisfaction, Taylor was dismayed by the latest development. Spartans, whose ambitious plans for a new stadium have been aided financially by SFA and sportscotland grants, might be forced to return a percentage of that income to pay a fine for failure to submit their team lines to the match referee, Charlie Richmond, at least an hour before kick-off at Love Street.
"The normal procedure is to ask Spartans for an explanation but what we have to be careful of is making sure the situation doesn't become silly, or tit-for-tat. It is too early to say what may happen because we only received the report today and need to hear Spartans' explanation."
Mickey Lawson, the Spartans co-manager, yesterday admitted the club had arrived late and revealed the extent of their journey from Edinburgh.
"We actually arrived at 1.30pm to make sure we beat the M8 traffic. We went to Gourock for a meal and left with the intention of arriving at Love Street at 6.30, " he said. "The driver, though, missed his turn-off and we ended up heading towards Glasgow, and back into traffic."
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