Western Springs women regain three points after successful appeal

Western Springs have regained the three competition points they lost for an administrative error with the registration of Football Fern legend Maia Jackman for a Lotto NRFL Women’s Premier League game.

Springs won the season opener 5-0 against Hibiscus Coast with Jackman making a surprise return to top football as a late substitute.

Though Jackman was eligible to play, she was registered in an out-of-date profile within COMET, football’s national registration system.

Main photo: Maia Jackman returned to top football in the match between Springs and Coast.

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After the match, Hibiscus Coast protest to the competitions manager of Northern Region Football, who run the WPL competition.

The competitions manager dismissed the protest but the decision was overturned by the NRF Disciplinary Committee on the grounds they had no discretion but to apply an appropriate penalty under the NZF Disciplinary Code.

Western Springs then appealed this ruling to NZ Football’s Disciplinary Committee who overturned it on May 31.

However, the saga might not be over.

Hibiscus Coast have seven days in which to appeal the latest ruling, if they choose that course of action.

The latest ruling means the league table is recalculated by:

  • Removing the 3-0 win awarded to Hibiscus Coast after the game.
  • Reinstating the result as a 5-0 win to Western Springs.

Here’s how it affects the standings:

Table before latest ruling

Revised table

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