Guernsey FC Expelled from FA Cup for Fielding Ineligible Player
Guernsey FC has been expelled from the FA Cup after fielding an ineligible player.
The island team drew 1-1 with Bedfont Sports on Saturday in the extra preliminary round of the competition, marking their first competitive match of the season.
However, on Monday, the club announced that they had discovered a registration error involving one of the players who participated in their first FA Cup match in eight years.
This discovery led to the postponement of Tuesday's scheduled replay between the two teams in London, pending the outcome of an investigation.
"We have just received official confirmation that the club has been removed from this season's competition, and that Bedfont Sports FC has been awarded the tie and will advance to the Preliminary Round," stated Guernsey FC.
Bedfont Sports is set to host Kingstonian on August 16.
Guernsey FC's next match will be their inaugural game in the Southern Combination Premier Division, where they will host Wick at Victoria Park on Saturday.
This incident marks the second time this year that a team from the Channel Islands has faced penalties for fielding an ineligible player. In April, Jersey Bulls were docked three points for playing a suspended player in a Combined Counties Premier South match, a decision that ultimately cost them the league title. The club later secured promotion to the Isthmian League South East through the play-offs.