OSADEBE BLUNDER DOESN’T DAMAGE THE GILLS
LEAGUE ONE high-flyers Gillingham have been fined £4,000 after admitting fielding an ineligible player on the opening day of the season.
Emmanuel Osadebe signed for the Gills in July and featured in the first game of the season, a 4-0 victory over Sheffield United, but it turns out that he was not correctly registered.
The Kent side believed the 19-year-old’s last club was Tottenham and, as such, considered his signing to be from within the domestic player registration system – but the midfielder’s previous registration was at Irish club Dundalk.
The FA did not process the Gills’ documentation, despite the Football League registering Osadebe as a Gillingham player, and therefore it was not known that Osadebe required international clearance.
Gills then selected Osadebe for the clash with the Blades despite the absence of written confirmation from the FA that it too had registered the player.
The fine received is suspended for 12 months and while some may say the Gills should have been given a points deduction, the Football League explained the reasons for leniency.
A spokesman said: “While Gillingham have admitted that Emmanuel Osadebe should not have been selected for the match without all of the necessary confirmations being in place, it is also fair to say that the FA should have identified this issue earlier. Had it done so, this breach of regulations would never have occurred.
“Given the exceptional circumstances of this case, the Commission has ruled that the club should not find itself subject to a points deduction.”
Meanwhile, Cambridge United have been fined £7,000, of which £5,000 has been suspended, for fielding the ineligible Ryan Ledson in their 1-0 defeat against Crawley last month.