HOUGHTON Main are almost certain to be relegated from the South Yorkshire Championship this season after a ‘harsh’ points deduction for fielding an Afghan refugee whose registration forms had not been filled out correctly.
Houghton signed several Afghan players at the start of the season after clubs were given special dispensation to play refugees from that country, with rules usually restricting the number of overseas players allowed.
Zia Ahmad played the first seven league games of the season before the club was notified that he was not properly registered.
All the games he played have been awarded as wins to the opposition – they had only one won of the seven – while they have been deducted 18 points with a further 24 suspended.
Houghton Main’s Ernie Heseltine said: “We have filled out the forms wrong and we hold our hands up to that.
“But we’re volunteers and it’s an extremely complicated process to register a refugee. We won’t be the only club who falls foul of it.
“We feel that the points deduction is harsh. We wish we had been told straight away and we would have stopped playing him.”
Houghton are now 60 points off safety with eight games left. They have previously challenged for promotion to the ECB Yorkshire Premier South, once finishing in the top two but being denied promotion due to their youth system.
They now look set to drop into Division One.
Heseltine said: “It’s killed us and basically doomed us to relegation.
“We could stay up if we win every game but, having won two all season, that doesn’t really seem feasible.
“It would be very disappointing to go down. But we’ve got to rebuild.
“We have a never-say-die attitude as a club and we will work hard to get back up.”
A league statement read: “Houghton Main CC has committed a rule infringement. Along with the reversal of match points and the awarding of a match to their opponents, an extra 18 penalty points have been levied for fielding an ineligible player under a false name.
“Additionally, a 24-point suspension is held in abeyance until the end of 2025, which will be enforced should any further player irregularities occur, such as incorrect names or ineligibility.”
