Neptunes not allowed to make use of new players

Champions Neptunes will not be allowed to make use of two new foreigners they intend to recruit before the preliminary round is over, and when they are also due to face the other top notch teams Sliema, San Ġiljan and Sirens.

This was decided by the ASA after Neptunes signified their intentions to sign two more players, one from Serbia and the other from Croatia, so that they would have a wider playing option.

Current competition rules allow clubs to sign any number of foreign players as long as they make use of only two at a time.

According to official sources, there was an administrative oversight when a ruling by the ASA was not duly recorded in the association's council minutes.

The ruling came into force about four months ago whereby players, both local and foreign, could be signed by a club at least four days before they are due to play in a preliminary round match.

The same sources stated that when the Neptunes delegate asked the Council in a meeting held last week to reconsider the case due to these technical reasons, another delegate objected to Neptunes' request, thus vetoing the suspension of the rules and eventually Neptunes' possibility of making use of more players before the start of the last two rounds.