AFC Wimbledon Punishment

[Matt Cousins]

the hearing of AFC appeal of the 18 points reduction was today at noon and the outcome was,

 

They have only been deducted 3 points (THREE) plus a £400 fine.

 

A complete joke!!

[A Rebel and a Saint]

thats terrible, must agree an absolute joke.

[Wivenhoe Urchin]

I would fine them thousands but give no points deduction as i think the idea of deducting points is almost as bad as playing penalty shootouts after draws.

[Big J R]

That's the trouble with F.A.

 

Absolutely NO consistancy in punishments !

[Woody SUFC]

Good news for them and there fans but rules are rules in my eyes. A farce!

[Martin]

Ah but that's because:

 

"The Appeal Board ruled that, although the Ryman League had not misinterpreted its rules on eligibility and the decision to deduct 18 points was wholly in accordance with those rules, given the specific and unusual circumstances the deduction of 18 points was excessive"

 

Specific (ah bless its happened to poor old AFC) and unusual (their secretary can't read and complete a straightforward form).

 

I am sure other teams will be chuffed that their circumstances don't meet such specific and unusual criteria.

[GarySTFC]

[Ian_Sanderson]

BBC London 94.9 will be talking about the points deduction tonight between 7pm and 10pm give Steve Bunce a ring on 020 7 22 4 2000, text 07786 200 949 or you can email him at london.sport@bbc.co.uk.

 

Steve will be talking to those involved and getting views from other Ryman League managers.

 

 

[Matt]

Can't say I'm surprised by this at all. Unfortunately they have used their size to bully people into changing the decision, which I thought was correct anyway based on the rules.

 

I can't fault the Wimbledon fans for defending their club to the hilt, as we'd do the same, but the reduction of the punishment is ridiculous. I just think it's disgusting because you just know that a smaller club, say Leyton, would not have the power to weasel their way out.

 

It's also good to see some of the Wimbledon lot proving why we all love them so much on their forum:

 

"I bet Slough are sh*tting themselves. Saturday could see a massacre witnessed by 3000+ people"

 

"3 points at Leyton now is just so important going into a thrashing of Slough on Saturday and a celebration"

 

"we drew 0-0 with doomed Slough early in the season. ANY sort of win would be good in their second cup final... If you can't get up for a game against us, then you've got to question your ability and desire to play at this level" (Martin will love that one )

 

 

[HorshamRebel]

We've been to Wembley, You've not !

 

How's that for a chant ?

[Guest]

You lot a sooooooooooo jelious of AWCW, WE WOULD HAVE SUPPORTED YOU IF THE ROLLS WERE REVERSED

[Staines-upon-Thames Rebel]

We are SO jelious of all that history you have got, where you won the FA cup, all the years you have been in existance, and how you have the FA in your pocket - the thing that we are most jelious about is the quality of your moaning!

 

You are one of the few clubs that have failed to beat us at Stag meadow!

 

Your just a small team from merton!

[Guest]

Of course it should read AFCW see how easy it is to make an admin error. And it prooved we did not cheat.

[Guest]

Who said anything about history ??? this is all about the points deduction. Yes we are a small team in merton and your point is? Where do you think your club will be in 5 years time? Get a life mate and support all non-league clubs in some way as we do. We would have supported you if the rolls were reversed.

[Woody SUFC]

Anon you gained an unfair advantage over other sides regardless if you meant it or not. Perhaps not 'cheating' but you can see why other clubs and their fans are unhappy with the points deduction going down so much. ANY other club and would it of been part of Prime Ministers Questions? NO!

[RockTheTeaBar]

Actually, NO unfair advantage was gained whatsoever. This was absolutely fundamental to the success of the appeal.

 

Apologies for the crowing posts reported by Matt above, but as you can imagine there have been high spirits in the camp over the last couple of days.

[A Rebel and a Saint]

to reduce the punishment by 15 points is just completely ridiculous, if they had cut it by, for example, 3-6 points, then it wouldnt have been so bad, but 15 points is completely stupid.

 

was it really worth threatening them with reduced points in the first place??

[Martin]

The unfair advantage stems from the fact that an improperly registered player turned out for you in 11 games. The rules of registration are there for a reason. I don't see why they don't apply in the usual way to this situation. The FA talks of specific and unusual reasons - that is what needs to be clarified.

[RockTheTeaBar]

Cocking up a registration does not incur an unfair advantage, as confirmed by the FA themselves when they threw AFCW out of the FA Trophy in the first instance. It would only have been an unfair advantage if, say, by not gaining the ITC Jermaine Darlington had played in games when he should have been under a suspension, which he was not.

[Guest]

OK MR "to reduce a 15 point punishment is ridiculous" - What about "giving a 18 point penalty in the first place is completely ridiculous"?