Celtic: Legia Warsaw face UEFA probe over Champions League tie Legia Warsaw have admitted they are under investigation for fielding an ineligible player during their Champions League win over Celtic. http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/28693855 Technically Legia played an illegal player for the last couple of minutes of the 2nd leg. Ironically the player actually served out his three match european ban for an earlier red card (2 matches with St Pats and 1st leg with Celtic) but due to a paperwork error it was not correctly registered and one match officially did not count. It will be interesting to see what the jury's verdict will be this morning. I hope that it will be "guilty" but with "mitigating circumstances" resulting only in a fine. The Legia fans after their euphoria of a 6-1 aggregate victory are very worried to put mildly. All very reminiscent of our own Faurlingate and I thought such dramatic turn of events were exclusively reserved for us. If Celtic go through on this one it will really be the luck of the Irish (well they do play in green). p.s sorry for the typo in the title: indidents =incidents
Legia are disqualified from the Champons League. Celtic go throught to the next round despite losing 1-6. UEFA played it by the book but I believe it is a controversial decision. Congratluatons to Celtic?????!!!
Hilarious, I expect that the reason they played it strictly by the book - the player in question was not simply ineligible, he was banned - is the fear that should a similar situation happen to the big players at a later stage of the competition an awkward precedent may have been set which could have been used and would have rocked the competition. As someone elsewhere noted, the traditional 'group whipping boys' slot to which they have been accustomed will after all be available for them once again.
That is unbelievable - as if those two minutes made a difference. Also its a paperwork error - he served the three match ban
I admit I thought Legia would get away with a hefty fine. I thought we always had the drama's. There will be a lot of anquish and crying in some parts of Warsaw today. I actually feel a lot of sympathy for the Legia fans. I can see quite a bit of friction when opposing fans will heckle Legia with this at next league games.
Seems odd that the club has to file paperwork for their own banned players? Doesn't that mean he'd have been allowed to play in the first game of his ban? I doubt it and reckon they'd have got disqualified then instead. Big implications over bureaucracy but I suppose it has been done by the book in the strictest terms.
Apparently, this kind of punishment only happens if the opposing team launches a complaint. If not, it's left alone. So, Celtic must have seen the opportunity and gone for it. How do you guys feel about that? Would you have done the same?
Only illegible players require an appeal by the opponents. If a player is banned, then the process starts automatically. Celtic didn't need to do anything in this case.
I suppose the fans would complain if not but, personally, I'd take that on the chin (despite the huge financial ramifications) but publicly say as much - they were beaten and it wasn't down to the ineligible player. Finances/ambition vs sporting conduct only has one winner sadly.
I would be very impressed if Celtic Football Club stated that they do not want to win in this manner. They lost the the football match on an aggregate score of 1-6 and they do not want to win by a technical error (re. Arsenal and Wenger in that FA cup game some time ago when the match was replayed). But football is not cricket and finance rules over fair play.
Would UEFA been as strict if it was say Barca or Real or one of their other preferred clubs? A hefty fine should have sufficed, Celtic should not benefit after been so comprehensively beaten.....
I do not want to be cynical but I believe there would have been a different decision had it Barca or Real. I fear it is not a level playing pitch.
Thing is ski... I am cynical when it comes to football governing bodies, which is why I asked the question.....I'm pretty sure that said clubs would have received a fine, a slap on the wrists and told not to do it again.....Legia were daft to put themselves in such a position, but the punishment does seem rather harsh.....
Of course Legia made the mistake and it is inexcusable. However, it was a mistake and in light of other such incidents this decisions seems very tough (although technically correct and in accordance with the byelaws). I see that Legia have 5 days to appeal and will be interested to see if there with a further twist in this tale.
I find it unbelievable that this sort of thing comes up quite frequently. Surely, if FIFA, UEFA or the relevant national football association each issued players with a certificate of eligibility as required before they competed in whatever league or tournament it would put an end to this? You buy the player, complete the signing and simply apply to (for example) the FA for an eligibility certificate for him to compete in the PL. You make it into the CL, so you apply to UEFA for a certificate to field him in that competition. No certficatee, no playee. What could be simpler? If a certificate is then issued in error then its the fault of the governing body for now doing their full due diligence.
If FIFA/UEFA were real business companies then there are many improvements and systems they could implement, such as your suggestion.However they are not. They are very rich organisations, focused on making money, and it is quite difficult to envisage what added value their substantial administration actually does.
He was eligible, but banned. The he problem has arisen because he was ineligible for a previous match but Legia thought that game was included in the 3 match ban. They were wrong, played him, and are now paying the price. Celtic didn't appeal, they didn't have to in the case of banned players.
