Rangers Scottish Cup tie in limbo as club face being kicked out of competition
SFA hearing set after fielding of ineligible player
Stranraer face being kicked out of the Scottish Cup after securing a lucrative tie against Rangers.
The League Two club defeated Championship side Queen's Park 6-5 on penalties following a 1-1 at Stair Park on Tuesday to book a last-16 trip to Ibrox.
However, they could be denied the chance to take on Danny Rohl’s side after being issued with a notice of complaint by the Scottish FA over fielding an ineligible player.
The charge centres around the inclusion of goalkeeper Lyndon Tas, who joined the club on loan from Hearts on the day of the game. The 17-year-old played the full match and saved a penalty in the shoot-out to help his side progress.
The tie was originally due to be played on Saturday, January 17, but was postponed. Scottish Cup rules state the only players registered for the original fixture date can feature in the rearranged fixture in the event of postponements, abandonments or replays.
Since Tas was not registered as a Stranraer player prior to the original date, nor signed as an emergency loan, the club now faces being expelled from the competition.
An SFA statement read: “The charge against Stranraer is that they have failed to observe the terms of Competition Rule 12, and in particular 12.5, and did list on their Official Team Line for a rescheduled match a player, namely Lyndon Tas, who was not eligible to be listed on their Official Team Line at the date fixed for originally playing the match, and who was not a recognised goalkeeper pursuant to an emergency temporary transfer approved by the Scottish FA Board.”
A hearing will take place next Wednesday (January 28). If Stranraer are found guilty of breaching Rule 303 regarding player eligibility, Queen’s Park would be reinstated to the Scottish Cup and face Rangers next month.
Stranraer have appealed the verdict and issued a statement which read: "We can confirm that an appeal has been made to the Scottish FA regarding the eligibility of goalkeeper Lyndon Tas.
"Agreement had been reached with Hamilton Academical for Josh Lane to feature in the Scottish Cup 4th Round on Saturday, but this was refused for the rearranged fixture on Tuesday night.
"With only one goalkeeper in our playing squad, we acted quickly in good faith to recruit a goalkeeper on loan with help from Heart of Midlothian.
"Scottish Cup competition rules state that where fixtures are rearranged, any new player must be registered by the date of the original tie, unless signed on an emergency loan.
"The question was raised as to whether the signing of Lyndon qualifies as an emergency loan, and we are deemed to have breached that regulation. We will have the opportunity to present our case and provide mitigation to the panel in due course."
Three years ago, Queen’s Park were kicked out of the competition in similar circumstances after fielding an ineligible player against Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
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