North Ferriby have been removed from the FA Vase after playing “ineligible” Niall Tilsley in the 4-0 battering of West Auckland Town.
Ferriby and the East Riding FA’s chief executive have blamed the FA’s Whole Game System for the error as it did not show any upcoming suspensions before Saturday’s clash with West Auckland.
However, the club say there has since been a “discovery of a non-recorded yellow card issued in December”.
In a mitigation letter for the club, East Riding FA chief executive Adam Lowthorpe said: “North Ferriby made a detailed effort to clarify the eligibility of their players prior to the fixture in an open and transparent fashion and following these discussions established their player was eligible to play.
“They should not be punished due to human error within a dated process for handling discipline in comparison to other levels of the game.
“At the point of the fixture, there were no outstanding suspensions on (the) Whole Game System and the club had specifically asked The Football Association to clarify the eligibility of its players.”
Club chairman Les Hare said: “There is little more I can add at this time, other than, I’m heartbreak for every ‘Villager’, but none more so than our incredible management and players.”