Archived News from September 2008
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STAGS IN TEN POINT THREAT
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The Non-League Paper, 21 Sep 08
STAGS IN TEN POINT THREAT by Stuart Hammonds Grays chairman Mick Woodward said: It's the player (O'Connor)'s fault, not the club's. I don't want to see them lose points..." 
------------- BSP confirm Conference investigation into second Stags issue by John Lomas, CHAD.co.uk, 22Sep08 IT was confirmed today that that the Blue Square Premier League is investigating 'player registrations issues' with Mansfield Town Football Club. http://www.chad.co.uk/stags/BSP-confirm-Conference-investigation-into.4516165.jp It was also confirmed that this is a completely separate issue to the investigation into the signing of Aaron O'Connor, who it appears may have already signed for Grays before joining the Stags. The O'Connor issue is now in the hands of the Football Association and Stags could face points deductions for either or both cases. The other investigation appears to centre on the Conference not receiving a fax/faxes from the Stags containing the details of players' signings in the rush just before the season started and registration and Conference general manager Dennis Strudwick told Chad on Monday: "We are dealing with an issue with the club over the receipt of some players' registrations and the club has been very helpful in the consultations that have taken place. "We have put no time limit on our investigation as it needs to take as long as it takes. I don't think it will drag on and may even be sorted in the couple of weeks. "We want to it to be dealt with thoroughly and very correctly and the correct Conference protocol will be applied. As soon as there is something to be said we will say it, but at this stage we don't want anyone's case to be compromised." He added: "The Aaron O'Connor case is something completely different and is being dealt with by the FA. "We will have to wait and see what they find and review what the charges are. I think it is prudent for the Conference to wait and see what the outcome of the FA investigation is before we consider if any rules have been breached." -------------------- Stags face double investigation BBC.co.uk, 22Sep08 Mansfield are being investigated by the Football Association and the Football Conference over player registrations. The FA are looking into whether striker Aaron O'Connor is still registered with his former club Grays Athletic. And the Football Conference say they are trying to establish whether 'more than one player' was ineligible for the first two games of the season. A Football Conference spokesman told BBC Radio Nottingham the club have been "extremely helpful". A club statement said: "We can now confirm that we have had dialogue with the Football Conference relating to player registration/signings. "At this point in time we have no further information on the matter and are unaware that any regulations have been breached. "We will issue a further statement once we know the full details of the matter." ---------------- John Hemmingham audio interview (originally broadcast live on 20Sep08 on Radio Nottingham): here Stags chief wants to boost crowds BBC.co.uk Mansfield Town's new chief executive John Hemmingham says he wants to encourage bigger crowds at Field Mill. Hemmingway, who takes over the job full-time in early October, told BBC Radio Nottingham he wants Stags crowds to top 3,000. "We want that figure to provide as much finance to Billy as possible," he said. "The support from Stags fans has been absolutely fantastic and we have sold about 20% more season tickets than last year despite relegation." Hemmingham also said he believed the club had not fielded an ineligible player despite an investigation by the the Football Association and the Football Conference. The FA are looking into whether striker Aaron O'Connor is still registered with his former club Grays Athletic. "An investigation is going on and if there is anything else to say on the matter, we will announce it," Hemmingham said. ----------------- Ineligible players: Stags facing 2 investigations and points deduction? CHAD.co.uk, 21 Sep 08, by Tim Morriss MANSFIELD Town seem to be facing two separate investigations into allegations that they fielded ineligible players - as first revealed by Chad.co.uk on Saturday evening. http://www.chad.co.uk/stags/Ineligible-players-Are-Stags-facing.4513214.jp National reports and an FA spokesman on Sunday confirmed Chad's Saturday evening story that the signing of Aaron O'Connor is subject to a separate probe - that he signed for one club while under contract to another. While the Football Conference is also continuing to look into the registration of several players, signed in the hours leading upto the start of the season, who it is claimed were ineligible for the first two matches. As Chad first revealed on Saturday evening, this relates to more than one player (not including O'Connor) and it is thought that this is an administrative error - rather than a deliberate attempt to break any rules. It appears that the Conference did not receive a fax from the Stags containing the details of the players' signings and registration. There is also no suggestion that the Stags are to blame for the O'Connor alleged rule breach - but both rule breaks if proved could lead to significant points deductions for Mansfield and severely hit their hopes of a quick return to the Football League. The Stags thought they had signed O'Connor at the start of the season having been told he was a free agent, but Grays Athletic are claiming that they had already secured the striker after taking up a one-year option to retain his services from the previous season. The problem came to light only after the 25-year-old had featured in the first five matches of the season - during which the Stags gained 10 points. In theory Mansfield could lose those 10 points for this breach - and also four should they be punished over the ineligible players from the registration investigation as that concerns just the first two matches of the season. However, no club has ever been punished twice over one match, so the maximum punishment from the two investigations would likely be 10 points - not 14. But the club will be hoping for leniency, given that they believed O'Connor was a free agent - a fact supported by Grays chairman Mick Woodward - and also that any registration breaches would not have been deliberate. A more likely outcome at the moment would seem to be a possible points deduction punishment over the registration issues - upto four points - with the Stags cleared of any wrongdoing over the O'Connor saga. An FA spokesman - confirming the O'Connor investigation - said that the Stags have been 'charged with an an alleged breach of FA Rule C.1(i(i)) which states that a player under written contract may only play for the club for which he is registered. The club have 14 days to respond'. Grays chairman Woodward told The Non-League Paper on Sunday: "We took up our option on Aaron, but he started playing around. We said 'You can talk to whoever you like, but let them know they've got to talk to us to release you because although I don't want a fee, we want a sell-on clause'. "He turned up at Mansfield and signed, which he wasn't entitled to do. "I rang up their chairman. He said Aaron had told them he was a free agent. It's the player's fault, not the club's. I don't want to see them lose points, but he was still our player. "He didn't play against us because this all came to light the week before." As Woodward mentioned, there appeared to be confusion over O'Connor in the days leading upto the match between the two clubs on 30th August - with the Stags eventually saying that the striker's non selection was part of an agreement between the two sides when the signing was completed. So far Mansfield Town has commented through an official statement only, released on Thursday, which confirmed the Conference investigation after initial denials that the Stags were the club involved. It said: "We can now confirm that we have had dialogue with the Football Conference relating to player registration/signings. "At this point in time, we have no further information on the matter and are unaware that any regulations have been breached. "We will issue a further statement once we know the full details of the matter." ------------------ Conference investigation: More than one Stags player may have been ineligible CHAD.co.uk, 20 Sep 08, by Tim Morriss THE Football Conference investigation into Mansfield Town possibly breaking registration rules concerns more than one player, Chad can reveal. http://www.chad.co.uk/stags/Conference-investigation-More-than-one.4513069.jp And, contrary to earlier reports, it seems as though one of those players who may not have been eligible to play in the opening two matches of the season is not Aaron O'Connor. His name had been linked to the investigation, first reported on Wednesday, when it was originally thought just one player registration was involved. But, on Saturday evening it was confirmed to Chad that the problem surounds more than one player's registration - and that O'Connor's move is not part of that probe. The striker joined Mansfield after being offered new terms by Grays Athletic this summer. However, his move to the Stags may still be subject to a separate probe, Chad understands - though any suggestions of irregularity over his signing would not seem to be the fault of the Stags. There are no further details of this separate investigation. There is also no suggestion that the club deliberately broke any rules over the registration of players, details of which are the subject of scrutiny by the Conference. But what seems to be a possible administrative error - reportedly relating to a single fax being sent to the Conference ahead of the opening day of the season - is now being investigated by both the club and the Conference and, in a worse case scenario, could end with the Stags being docked points. The problems were first revealed on Wednesday when Conference General Manager Dennis Strudwick confirmed the probe into an alleged breach of Football Conference rules in the first two matches of the season - the draw at Ebbsfleet and the win over Histon. And first reports suggested that the club was the Stags, despite denials from Field Mill, with the club facing a possible punishment of being deducted points and a fine. Then on Thursday afternoon the Stags released a statement confirming the investigation, saying it had received official contact from the Conference about the issue. The Mansfield Town FC statement on Thursday read: "We can now confirm that we have had dialogue with the Football Conference relating to player registration/signings. "At this point in time, we have no further information on the matter and are unaware that any regulations have been breached. "We will issue a further statement once we know the full details of the matter." On Saturday afternoon Stags chief executive John Hemmingham said the Conference investigation stemmed from a reporter at Grays, leading to further speculation that the registration of O'Connor was at the centre of the problem. However, Chad had it confirmed on Saturday evening that the issue surrounds more than one registration and that the striker is not one of those players. It is not known when the Conference will conclude its investigation, though the Stags are hoping for progress within the next 10 days. Conference General Manager Mr Strudwick told Chad: "It will take as long as it takes." ------------------ |
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