Kenyan Premier League (KPL) side Posta Rangers have been reinstated to the GOtv Shield and will play Ushuru tomorrow in a round of 32 fixture.
The team was disqualified from the knock-out competition after they were found guilty of fielding an ineligible player during their first round match against Timsales.
Rangers, however, appealed the decision and the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Disciplinary Committee ruled they be reinstated to the competition, their guilt notwithstanding.
The committee said an appropriate punishment should be slapped on the club. In their appeal, Rangers argued that FKF erred in invoking the new GOtv Cup rule-book to govern this year’s competition, yet the same has not been published or come into force.
“FKF erred in finding that we fielded an unregistered player John Nairuka, yet we had no knowledge of the rule-book and could not therefore, abide by it. We did not receive an email from the federation and only knew about the tournament through the media.”
“Furthermore, the player was cleared to play by July 1,” Rangers wrote in their defence.
In their ruling, the committee said there was a compelling justification by Rangers for non-compliance of the rules as they had not received the new rules and hence, could not comply.
“The rules concerning transfer of players are new and teams need time to understand and comply with them.”
Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann has opted to represent himself after splitting from his agent.
The Frenchman, who was the Player of the Tournament at Euro 2016, has been linked with a number of moves away from the Vicente Calderon in recent months
Premier League duo Manchester United and Chelsea were among the rumoured suitors, but the striker opted to stay in Madrid.
However, Griezmann’s decision to dispense of the services of Spanish agency Grupo Santos after their previous contract expired could reignite their interest.
“From now, I’m going to operate without an agent,” he told L’Equipe.
“But I will always have the advice of my father.” —Additional reporting by PA