Barnsley has been disqualified from the current FA Cup due to playing a player who was not eligible in their first-round replay victory against Horsham. As a result, Horsham has been re-entered into the competition.
After a thrilling initial game at Oakwell that ended in a 3-3 draw, The Tykes ultimately won the replay 3-0 against the Isthmian League Premier team. However, they were found to have violated FA Cup Rule 103 and will be substituted by the non-league team for their next match against Sutton United in round two.
“We recently discovered an error in our administrative process that affected the eligibility of a player who participated in last Tuesday’s game with Horsham FC,” stated the League One team. “We have fully complied with the investigation and accept the decision made by the FA. We have also communicated with Horsham FC and would like to express our gratitude to the club and its chairman for their cooperation and understanding throughout this matter.”
We want to say sorry to our supporters, athletes, and employees for this unfortunate mistake. This error, although not deliberate, does not meet the high expectations we have for our club and is not what you deserve. We have already completed a thorough internal inquiry and have implemented measures to prevent this from occurring in the future.
The chairman of Horsham, Kevin Borrett, stated that on Friday, he was contacted by Barnsley chairman Neerav Parekh to inform him of an administrative error and the FA’s consideration of the situation. He acknowledged the disappointment that this news would bring to both Barnsley and their fans. On behalf of HFC, he expressed his well wishes for Barnsley’s efforts to be promoted back to the Championship.
Source: theguardian.com
