As we all know, MK Dons made a dodgy sub yesterday when the board came up and McGovern walked 4 feet onto the pitch and replaced Butler. Butler then came back on and McGovern went off.

To quote the FA,

"A substitution is completed when a substitute enters the field of play
From that moment, the substitute becomes a player and the player he has replaced ceases to be a player
A player who has been replaced takes no further part in the match "

Thus, effectivley it was a valid substitution and MK Dons broke the rules. I've just had a chat to a referee who refs the Welsh Premier League or whatever it's called.

He said, it's classed as fielding an illegal player and the penalty is usually a 3 point deduction or being disqualified from the competition if it's a cup. In some cases it can be more. In the French league, St Etienne were docked seven points for fielding an illegal player but it will most likely be 3. But it all depends on Pools reporting it.

I wasn't paying attention at the time but what was the fourthofficial, ref, linesman doing? Surely they know the rules.........

is the fourth official not responsible to let the subs go no to the pitch
or doe's mad dog have a different set of rules

It's not as though they were hiding the sub from the ref is it?
I'm all for shafting MkDonkeys but if they did infringe the rules on a technicality like that then any kind of punishment involving points deductions would be way over the top. Far harsher than the punishment Bury got seeing as Turnbull actually played whereas McGovern never took any active part in the game on the first false start (did play even restart?).

There again, it is MKDonkeys we're talking about so if they do get punished it's not that important.

i thought the game has to be in progress before he can come on?
or is that just someone coming back on after treatment?

Another pathetic rule, so a player gets fouled but then his team are penalised by being made to play with 10 men for a short period of time, surely the player who commited the foul should also be removed from the pitch until the injured player can return

I must be alone in thinking this a fantastic rule - it is designed to stop players feigning injury (we've all lost the plot at this time wasting tactic) and we see more of this than "real" injuries, if you ask me! When it was introduced, there was almost unanimous agreement. Methinks everyone's forgotten why it was introduced.

I agree with you there John, something similiar happened to us when we played Mansfield (I think) at home earlier this season. Liddle made a clearing header and clashed heads with their centre forward. Obviously the rule is the physio comes on so the player(s) have to leave the field until the referee allows them back on. They then decided their player wasn't able to continue and the ref allowed the subtistute to come straight on the pitch, while Liddle had to watch us defend a corner which gave them a man advantage. Surely he should have only have been allowed on when liddle was allowed back on

Us lawyers have a useful saying here - hard cases make bad law!

I am sure that when these rules were introduced the physio came on and so did a stretcher, the physio made his diagnosis, the player then left the pitch (by the stretcher or walk off) and then the game continued while the player received treatment on the sidelines. However, the player now gets treatment on the pitch then goes off. It makes a mockery of it in my opinion.

Is that the same butler who got teeth knocked out (or was it him who knocked someone's teeth out?) at brizzle?
The one who fouled skippy to give us a penalty a couple of seasons ago?

But it does make Allens statement that 'Izale was just trying to control the ball which held up in the wind' a load of crap. He smacked Nelse, however lightly, three seconds before the ball landed about five yards in front of him AND at someone elses feet.

So he wanted hammering for it, even if it was only for the intent.