Tanners explain ineligible player saga

Last week Leatherhead FC explained that they had been fined £100 by the Bostik League Appeals Board after being found guilty of the charge of playing an ineligible player- Yannis Ambroisine, who later left the club to play for Whitehawk in National League South. At the time they couldn't expand on the reasons for the fine, which was the lowest sanction available, as the matter was still subject to a further FA enquiry, which was held yesterday. The matter now concluded, they have been able to make a statement, which is available in full on the club website.

The club have explained that the ineligibility of the player was due to a lack of international clearance- and that he had already appeared for a number of other English clubs, including Hayes & Yeading and Waltham Forest, without this clearance being applied for. When Ambroisine joined the Tanners both he and his agent assured the club that he had not played any football abroad, and undoubtedly his previous clubs had received the same advice- but it was later found that this assertion wasn't correct, and that some years previously the player had appeared in France.

Had the Tanners been given the correct information then applying for international clearance is a relatively simple process, but they were not- and this is reflected in the fact that the FA did not chose to level any fine, costs, nor order the club to repay gate and TV revenues from their runs in the FA Cup or FA Trophy. However because by the letter of the law the club had indeed inadvertently played an ineligible player, they have been instructed to return prize money obtained from the six FA Cup and two FA Trophy matches in which Ambroisine played.

For more information, please follow the link above and read the club statement in full.