Victory’s points reinstated

 July 19 2010

Shepparton News

Frank Trimboli says he feels vindicated by Friday night's tribunal appeals board decision that found he was within his rights to allow Cobram Victory's Adam Gatcum to play.

Gatcum was yet to serve a suspension received while playing in the United Kingdom, but was given the allclear to play by Goulburn North East Football Association president Trimboli in round eight's game against Cobram Tigers, which Victory won 4-2.

Gatcum also played in the team's following game against then undefeated Shepparton South, which his team also won.

The original tribunal hearing last month found Trimboli had made an honest mistake allowing Gatcum to play and stripped Victory's points from both wins.

But on Friday night the appeals board overturned that decision and awarded Victory its points back saying GNEFA rules regarding suspended players from other competitions are ambiguous and that Trimboli and his board had the right to make a decision on the matter.

"That has been the discussion from day one; because they (the rules) were ambiguous there was no clear rule to say he couldn't play and no rule to say he could, so that's why we let it go," Trimboli said.

"It's been a bit of a roller-coaster ride just to prove we were right, which is a bit upsetting, but you have to go through the course. The last few weeks I lost credibility leading the competition because of that decision, but the way the FFV appeals board saw it we were entitled to make the decision we made."

Cobram president Roy Boncaldo was furious the original tribunal decision was overturned and that his team would no longer receive points from the Victory game.

"We're still a bit shocked that you can play a suspended player and get away with it," Boncaldo said.

"There is a letter going into the league expressing how we feel about it and how it was all done. It just wasn't done right from our side of it. How can you go to a tribunal and win it and then go to an appeal and it's completely different?

"We're not disappointed with Victory at all because every club is going to fight for themselves; we're just disappointed at the tribunal."

Boncaldo said the tribunal told his club it had no recourse to further appeal.

"According to the tribunal, they made a decision and it's final and we're not allowed to appeal . . . (so) we can't say we're going to take it further."