Lucky Celtic - again

[VantaaVale]

Celtic re-instated in the Champions League after Legia Warsaw fielded an ineligible player for four minutes at the end of the second leg. This is the second time they have had a reprieve, when three years ago Sion fielded an ineligible player in a Europa League tie.

 

In my view this is too harsh a punishment, but I guess these are the rules.

 

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/28701951

[Shropshire_Valiant]

Jammy gits and they got an absolute hiding as well on aggregate. They will probably raise their game in the group stage now and beat someone at Celtic Park!:rolleyes:

 

I agree it's harsh for such a short period of the game he barely affects the outcome but like you say them's the rules!

 

A similar thing happened in the local darts league I play in last season. In the cup semi final the team who we should have met in the final fielded an ineligible player in their semi, yet it was a dead rubber at the end of the match with the outcome already decided but because they wrote the match on the card they were thrown out and we played the team who'd actually lost!

[TheJoker]

Shocking decision, completely disproportionate. Legia have every right to be upset and I hope they win any appeal lodged.

[stupers]

Totally agree. Let's put this into context. They guy came on in the 178th minute of a 180 minute game.The score was already 6-1 on aggregate at this point. Never mind the rules, show some common sense. This substitution had no bearing on the outcome of the tie whatsoever. A fine would have sufficed.

 

Normally it's just FIFA who have to hang their heads in shame. UEFA join them today, sheer idiocy of the highest order.

[arthurdog]

I agree it's a shame for Legia but hey the rules are the rules. It's not Celtic's fault. btw Want to see injustice ,watch FC UEFAlona get Suarez off today.That's unjust.

[Smugsy]

Does Bill Lodey have a Polish cousin?

[WelshValiant]

The result of the match should be completely irrelevant though. Say he'd come on and they'd been drawing, then scored the winner, should Legia face a different penalty? Considering the match was already won, why did they bother bringing him on if there was even the slightest dispute over whether he was eligible?

 

I completely agree about it being unfair to Legia by the way, no question with regards to them being much more deserving of staying in the competition.

[Paul6754]

If the punishment wasn't harsh where would this type of incident stop, the punishment was right and proper, the blame lies entirely with Legia. However you're right, Celtic were very lucky.

[VantaaVale]

The result of the match should be completely irrelevant though. Say he'd come on and they'd been drawing, then scored the winner, should Legia face a different penalty? Considering the match was already won, why did they bother bringing him on if there was even the slightest dispute over whether he was eligible?

 

I completely agree about it being unfair to Legia by the way, no question with regards to them being much more deserving of staying in the competition.

 

It seems there was some confusion over his ineligibility. Legia appeared to think that their home tie against Celtic was the third and final match of the player's suspension. However, it seems the player was not registered to play in the previous round and so those two matches did not reduce the suspension.

[WelshValiant]

It seems there was some confusion over his ineligibility. Legia appeared to think that their home tie against Celtic was the third and final match of the player's suspension. However, it seems the player was not registered to play in the previous round and so those two matches did not reduce the suspension.

 

So either somebody at the club was inept in not registering the player, in which case the punishment is justified (although still harsh in my eyes), or UEFA didn't make it clear to Legia the processes they had to go through to register him for those matches, in which case it's UEFAs fault and Legia shouldn't be punished. Unfortunately I doubt we'll ever know which it is, but the end result is that Celtic have been very lucky! I can't see them getting past Maribor though.

[Warren]

I see Celtic as the model of Scotland after independence if voted for. A club well supported that should be competing as it once did at the top of Europe. Yet, trapped in Scotland they can't attract and retain top players. Doomed to at best mediocrity.

[JOHNNYAITCH]

Never mind the rules, show some common sense

 

 

The point is this is now a huge deterrent against any club thinking they can just break the rules 'a little'

 

Well done to UEFA for showing some ball$

[TheJoker]

 

The point is this is now a huge deterrent against any club thinking they can just break the rules 'a little'

 

Well done to UEFA for showing some ball$

 

Some balls but no consistency. Debrecen were fined 15000 euros but allowed to stay in the competition for a very similar breach of the rules in 2010.

 

However, there is a precedent that suggests there is no cut-and-dried policy ensuring that a club guilty of fielding an ineligible player must forfeit the tie. In 2010, Uefa fined Debrecen £15,000 but rejected a protest by opponents Litex Lovech, who argued that the Hungarian side should be kicked out of the tournament.

 

Debrecen stressed that they had fielded Peter Mate in good faith as a substitute in Bulgaria when they were already leading 4-1 on aggregate. Uefa ruled that Debrecen had “no interest in fielding this player for the three last minutes of additional time, when the score was so clearly in its favour”.

[For Us All]

Legia Warsaw have sent an open letter to Celtic asking for a one-off match to decide who goes through to the next round.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/28732601

[Warren]

Some balls but no consistency. Debrecen were fined 15000 euros but allowed to stay in the competition for a very similar breach of the rules in 2010.

 

However, there is a precedent that suggests there is no cut-and-dried policy ensuring that a club guilty of fielding an ineligible player must forfeit the tie. In 2010, Uefa fined Debrecen £15,000 but rejected a protest by opponents Litex Lovech, who argued that the Hungarian side should be kicked out of the tournament.

 

Debrecen stressed that they had fielded Peter Mate in good faith as a substitute in Bulgaria when they were already leading 4-1 on aggregate. Uefa ruled that Debrecen had “no interest in fielding this player for the three last minutes of additional time, when the score was so clearly in its favour”.

 

Yes I agree. In administration there are only two viable approaches which are fair and they can't operate together. There is objective disqualification for I eligible players with no other thought process. Or there is discretion with judgement linked to proportionality in which system Legia Warsaw would probably still be in the competition as the offence did not impact the result.