The players didnt know about this till an hour ago either. You get the feeling that the RFL didnt have a clue about this and it only came to light because of THAT thread.

It's not up to the referee to decide who is/isn't elligible to play in a match. He only has to check that they are filled out correctly and is responsible for getting them to the RFL on time after the game.

With this and the Hunslet cup knock out I suspect Fax are at breaking point finance wise. Or at the very least it's knocked us for six income wise, it's not just the income from this game lost but IF we had won a glamour tie to a big team, this and the Arriva cup and cancelled pre season games will have knocked a large chunk from the income.

Getting more angry the more I think about this... what a complete farce!

Not only have the club lost out on a potential money spinning quater final, they could well have hindered any potential sponsorships deals to replace HBOS next year. Would you want to be associated with a shambles like this?

Iam ashamed to be a fax fan


This has really kicked the legs out from underneath our season

With the embarrasment that was caused last time, it wouldn't be beyond the wit of man to get each team to submit a 21 man sqad which the RFL can check the eligibility of a player to play in that match. I would have thought this would be common practice.

To have a system where a referee gets a team list half an hour before the game and after the game forwards this to the RFL is abysmal. There is no check in place. Basically, we could have fielded anyone and the consequences are sorted out if anyone notices?

Halifax's only defence against expulsion from the competition is to prove 'no fault or negligence' but my God, the governing body must take some responsibility for this.

Moot point maybe but is it up to the club to ask the player, on signing him, whether he is cup-tied or is the onus on the player to declare it?

The RFL are a set of incompetant muppets who should be all sacked! Why did nobody notice before now? Why is the game cancelled 3 hours before kick off? Fax have made a massive mistake and heads should roll. But the RFL Should have known sooner and sorted this out days after the last round. Now the day for thousands of players, fans, sponsors etc has been ruined! Thank you RFL for once again showing how useless you are at running the game!! The sooner the animals from the Zoo take over the RFL and the game in general the better. Why bother following the game?

We have had one mid season signing Mr Ostick. How difficult is it to check if he is "cup tied" fffs. Surely it is a question you ask, or am I being wise after the event. Either way it is a major inditement of how our club is run.

Yep, no excuses, finally people must realise, people like me that have been worried, may just have had good reason.

After the RFL phone call I think the next one will be the BANK MANAGER!

This game and possibly the next was going to pull us out of a hole...

It will take a couple years to recover from this, fully expect a few player departures to balance the devatsted books from this debacle.

SUMMARY DISMISSAL for person accountable please, lets start the rebuild from a clean slate.

Lowest Feeling as a fax fan ever (little lad is still wiping away his tears)

SHOCKING!
Makali cock up as well... RIP 2010!

Bunkum!

The fault lies entirely with Fax! It is their responsibility to know the eligibility of who they select - no-one elses.

The RFL only get involved after the fact, i.e. take action if a breach has occurred. They should, of course, spotted this earlier, but it doesn't alter the fact that Fax are 100% at fault for playing a "wrong 'un".

I dont think anyone thinks that its anyone else's fault but Fax's. However, why does it take a thread on a fans message board for this to be brought to the RFL's attention a couple of hours before kick off? Can you answer that?

I thought 2003's final league table was embarrassing...

I think its time we knew for certain how our club is being run, a Question Time style night between the fans and sponsors and the people who run our club because as the last week has shown, there is something SERIOUSLY wrong at our club and we have a right to know what the chuff is going on.

The problem is the people in charge of the club don't know what the chuff is going on!! - Points I have been alluding to for a long time with a few others only to be repeateadly shot down in flames by Tony Fax and Co. Where is he now?? - My / Our club is a joke from the bottom up and I think this could be the death knell for us. God I hope not

Look you Moron Fax made the mistake and nobody is denying it. But the RFL run the game. The same thing happened a few years ago at Hull. So the RFL SHOULD have made sure that any mistakes could not happen again in future. The RFL SHOULD have known sooner than now about it and also made a decision way before 2 hours before kick off to postpone the game. So the idiots at the RFL are just as guilty for ruining the day for thousands of people as fax. The sooner the RFL is cleared of the idiots ruining our game the better.

What was the cock up with Aizue?

If Clay & Posner did know, then the concern for me is that the club have then tried to deliberately conceal this. In that case i expect the punishment will be even more severe.

VISAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHH!

OR THE CLUB.S ATTENTION

True - or the club were just hoping know one knew. Disgusting, how can they have the cheek to put out a statement saying that our SL bid is on track, when the board or the coach dont know when a player is cup tied or not.

Time to stop running the club like a tuck shop. The boards committment isn't at fault but the professionalism certainly is of the directors and the coaching staff. Players not knowing they only had to draw v Hunslet, Hall naffs off to France for a month mid season to sort his "holiday home" out, Aizues visa and now Ostick. I am sat here in disbelief wondering how we find ourselves in this $hit.

I really don't get this. Fax have screwed up - a fact largely accepted by all on this forum!
IF the RFL have made a cock up, then that is another issue to be addressed. However, it's your disproportionate response I'm struggling with! How is this mess 'entirely the fault of the RFL' as in your first post??
You demand the sacking of officials and lambast them as if it were them that didn't do due dilligence to the legibility of players and suggest the removal en masse of everyone at the RFL after suggesting that it's them that is responsible for ruining the day.
Sorry on this one. The responsibility is YOUR CLUB - like most of the posters on here agree. The RFL response time may be questionable, and in turn may need questions answered, but get this in proportion. It's NOT the RFLs fault. This is a Fax screw up! Some pretty poor admin at the club for this to happen. When the crusaders went into 'visagate' we had a field day! This is similar.

Those who know me will know I'm not trolling either. I genuinely feel for the fans - if it were fev I'd be gutted.
You may get chucked out, but hey ho - build from it, learn from it. Move on. Not easy but you've experienced worse.
Want glory - old trafford can always take on more "fans"! This is Championship RL we support. It's never easy.

This is a real shame. It's not as if we were desperate for players enough to play Ostick against Swinton. I'm shocked no-one at the club picked up on this before that game, and for the RFL to leave it this long, then postpone the game on the day is shambolic.

Jon Wilkin & Ian Millward have just said on BBC Challenge Cup Coverage that they think Halifax will be dealt with more severely than Hull back in 2005 as the RFL have tweaked the rules a little bit to make sure this never happens again. Trust it to be Halifax.

There are plenty to point the finger at, it'll be interesting to find out what the RFL come up with here. Why they have to Investigate I do not know...we played an ineligable player, investigation over. Let's get this sorted quickly and either continue our CC campaign or concentrate on the Championship. I hope our SL chances aren't affected by this.

Just read the bit in Sporting Life:

"The RFL tightened up the rules on Challenge Cup eligibility two years ago after Hull were fined £100,000 - £40,000 of it suspended - for playing Jamie Thackray in ties against Rochdale and Widnes when he was not on the Cup register"

Wow there is a "Cup Register"!!!!!

Do the RFL send this to member clubs saying these are your eligible players? Do they check teams when they are sent to them by the refs straight after games?

If so this game should have been called off weeks ago. Everyone would not have endured the expense and disappointment of today.

I agree Halifax should have known that a player had already played in the Cup but if there is a register then surely someone should actually see this for themselves. There is no excuse for this taking so lone to materialise.





Very very disappointing.