Justice as FA throw out Trophy cheats Histon

Monday 25th January 2010

MAIDSTONE UNITED have been reinstated in the FA Trophy after Histon were thrown out for fielding an ineligible player in their 3-0 first round win.

A Football Association hearing ruled Jack Werndly should not have played as he signed after 12 December - the original registration date for the tie. "We're very happy as it means we progress to the second round," Stones boss Lloyd Hume told BBC Radio Kent.

"It's not the ideal way that you want to get there but we'll take it."

Maidstone will now face Salisbury in the second round on Saturday.

The tie was postponed six times because of the poor weather before they eventually played on 19 January after Werndly joined on loan from West Ham.

Hume added: "At the end of the day Histon have broken the rules and played an ineligible player and that rules them out of the competition and everybody would know that across football.

"I don't want to say it's cheating because I don't think they meant to do it but it would have meant that they would have been weaker without that individual in their side, that's for sure."

Histon had hoped they would not be expelled from the competition after Dunfermline Athletic were reinstated to the Scottish Cup after they appealed against a similar offence.

The Scottish FA ordered their fourth round tie against opponents Stenhousemuir be replayed.

But Hume admitted he was relieved that the FA decided against a replay in Maidstone's case.

"A replay would have been awful. But that was very different (for Dunfermline) because they were already 6-1 up when they brought the ineligible substitute on, so the game was pretty much out of question by that time," he said.

"But when you start an individual he has a true impact on the game, and at 1-0 until nearly 90 minutes you can say it was a very tight game, which it was so it was very different in my opinion and in the FA's as well."

Histon's £5,000 prize money will now be passed to the cash-strapped Kent club.

"It's a welcome boost financially," said Hume.

"Everyone knows the problems that we're having as a club and the fact that we've had no real home games to talk about in the last three or four months.

"But it's a boost which is very welcome for the chairman and it'll ensure the players start getting paid again very soon."

Article courtesy of BBC Radio Kent – www.bbc.co.uk/kent

Visit Maidstone United's website: www.maidstoneunited.co.uk