SPALDING UNITED'S dreams of a trip to Wembley in the FA Vase are over after they were booted out following a decision manager Pat Rayment emphatically said “stinks”.
The Tulips were scheduled to face Wisbech Town in the third round yesterday after beating Walsall Wood 3-0.
However, it later emerged that Garfield Robinson, an 85th minute substitute, was suspended under a different name – Louis Robinson – with the Northamptonshire FA, and was therefore ineligible.
The club had signed the player, who has since left, on the eve of the second round game on November 16 from Kettering Nomads but checks on his real name brought up nothing.
Spalding were consequently kicked out of the Vase on Tuesday after being found guilty of playing a player that was not correctly qualified in accordance with FA Vase Rule 15(d) and Midland Alliance side Wood were reinstated.
The United Counties Premier side, who have won all 17 league games so far this season, appealed the decision but their pleas fell on deaf ears at Wembley on Thursday with an FA Select Appeal Committee unwilling to reverse the decision.
Rayment told The NLP: “We've signed 28 players prior to signing Garfield Robinson and we did exactly the same thing procedurally as we did with the others.
“We proved to the FA that Garfield Robinson is his real name and identity with a birth certificate and driving license. Louis Robinson, the name which the ban was under, does not exist.
“When you search his real name nothing comes up, how on earth were we to know that we needed to look under a different name?
“This team could have, should have and probably would have gone to Wembley. We've applied for promotion so this may end up being our last season in the Vase – it stinks.”
