CAFC: No further sanctions for Dynamo

CEBU Amateur Football Cup President Greg Balsicas will not change the outcome of the contested 11-under finals result and will retain Cebu Dynamo FC as champions in the 13th Interclub Cebu Football Cup.

The result got the ire of some coaches and concerned parents when they learned of Dynamo’s head coach Dennis Peñalosa’s use of three overaged players in the bracket.

Balsicas’ decision to uphold is based on his compliance with the tournament’s rules.

“Unfair if i- disqualify ang whole team if isa ra nakasala. If nakasala ang coach, i- sanction ang coach dili tanan,” Balsicas said.

He added that contrary to the claim of the wife of the head coach of the University of San Carlos-Basic Education Department Guadalupe Arganza, there was no pending protest as the matter was decided within 24 hours in accordance to the rules.

He said that the first complaint, which came from San Roque head coach Totot Colina, who saw Loui Arreglo playing in the 11-under bracket against Warshockz, would not be considered an official protest since based on the rules, only the coach of the opposing team can file a protest.

But since the matter called for their action, they moved to resolve it instead and sanctioned Peñalosa with a two-game suspension.

According to them, Peñalosa said it was an honest mistake on his part because he submitted the same lineup he used for the Players 10 division in the Bro Festival Cup last year and he assumed his players would pass the cut-off for the 11-Under division.

Colina’s complaint only named Arreglo and did not mention the other two players Ballesteros named--James Baring and Jules Eribal.

Balsicas said that since there were no protests against these players, they couldn’t act on it.

He also said that they can’t prevent Peñalosa from coaching in the other categories because it was not in the rules, that’s why they only suspended him from coaching in the 11-under division.

Balsicas had already given an answer to the complaint sent by Ballesteros but since it went over the 24-hour period, it won’t be treated as an official protest.

The matter on the three over-aged players and the decision to suspend Peñalosa based on Colina’s complaint have been forwarded to the Cebu Football Association

for further action.