Football Queensland (FQ) has confirmed that National Premier Leagues (NPL) Queensland club Brisbane City FC has breached the FFA National Registration Regulations (NRR) section 4.5 and the Football Queensland Competition Regulations (FQCR) Section 2 Article 8 by fielding an ineligible player in the Open Men’s league.
Brisbane City FC was asked to submit a response to the allegation and following consideration of the submission, FQ has applied the following sanctions.
As per the FQCR, Brisbane City will forfeit the below matches:
Round 1 – vs Redlands United
Round 2 – vs Sunshine Coast FC
Round 3 – vs Peninsula Power
Round 4 – vs Gold Coast United
FQ has imposed a $2,000 fine with a $6,000 suspended fine. Should Brisbane City forfeit another match in the 2019 season, the suspended fine of $6,000 will apply.
FQ CEO Richard Griffiths said the integrity of the competition rules must be upheld.
“We appreciate Brisbane City FC’s transparency around this administrative error. We believe the loss of competition points, goal difference and a one match fine is a sufficient penalty,” Griffiths said.
Brisbane City FC Director Mario Lattanzi said the club has a proud tradition of participating within the rules and regulations of competitions in Queensland.
“We recognise that FQ had no discretion but to forfeit those games despite the fact that the error was innocently made in the interpretation of the ITC regulations. We’d hoped for a lesser penalty due to the fact the error was an honest one, however we accept the decision,” Lattanzi said.