CTFC - Posted 12th January 2009

Crawley Town Football Club have this afternoon (Monday) appeared before a senior Football Conference panel regarding the charge of fielding an unregistered player.  

The player in question Isaiah Rankin was signed by the football club back in July 2008. The Football Club was represented at today’s hearing by Steve Mansell (Vice Chairman), Susan Carter (Director) and Barry Munn (Secretary).

The Football Conference Panel have implemented the following sanction

* CTFC to be deducted 4 points

* CTFC to be fined £500.00

* CTFC have been instructed to pay £250.00 towards the hearing costs

* CTFC have a suspended fine of a further £1,500, suspended until May 2010 for a similar breach of The Conference rules.

Crawley Town Football Club are extremely disappointed with this decision. 

The decision is even more surprising given the sanction awarded to Oxford United for an identical but much deeper breach of The Football Conference rules.

The football club board will now take legal advice prior to any decision being made in relation to an appeal, which from today we have 14 days to do so.

Within the time frame outlined above we will have had the opportunity to have fully considered the full written reasons of the Conference panel. At that stage we will be in the position to make an informed decision.

Chairman Vic Marley said; “This decision is extremely hard to take given the flawed registration procedures that The Football Conference Premier had in place in the early part of the season.

"I also have sympathy for Oxford United who like ourselves are a victim of this flawed process but there is no doubt we have been dealt far more severely.

“I will meet with Steve Mansell, Sue Carter and my fellow board members at the earliest opportunity and in follow up to that meeting a full statement will be released.”

No further comment will be made.

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