Bushey Grove have been denied the Olympian League title after being found guilty of fielding an ineligible player

Prior to the match, a league official queried whether or not Kevin Kenwright was eligible for the fixture owing to an existing suspension, but was assured by the Bushey Grove manager the suspension had been cleared by the Herts FA.

Bushey Grove were promptly warned should this not be the case, they would face serious consequences. Kenwright played in the fixture as a second-half substitute and after 21 minutes of the second period, he was dismissed.

When the paperwork was put through to the Herts FA relating to the new suspension, it was noticed Kenwright had been suspended all along and therefore ineligible for the fixture.

Bushey Grove failed to provide their version of events when requested and have therefore been found to be in breach of Rule 8 O, which relates to the eligibility of players and states: “Any team playing an unregistered or otherwise ineligible player or players shall have the points gained in the match deducted from its total and may be fined and/or otherwise dealt with at the discretion of the management committee. It shall be fined £10 for each un-registered or suspended player.”

The Olympian League released a statement explaining their decision to deduct Bushey Grove the three points and said: “The league committee regrets that the deduction of the three points means that Bushey Grove FC do not end the season as Premier Division champions.

“However, it was felt that it would be wrong to come to a different decision in respect of the last game of the season to that which would have been taken at an earlier stage of the season, and concluded that it was Bushey Grove FC’s own actions that had led to this situation.”

Bushey Grove have the right to appeal and the Olympian League Committee have confirmed a further statement will follow regarding details of the trophy presentation once the appeal dates have passed.