No sanction for Carrick over Haveron touchline ban

Carrick Rangers will not face sanction over manager Gary Haveron's touchline ban.
Carrick manager Gary Haveron. Photo: PacemakerCarrick manager Gary Haveron. Photo: Pacemaker
Carrick manager Gary Haveron. Photo: Pacemaker

On Saturday Carrick confirmed they would contest the charge relating to boss Haveron’s recent suspension which could have resulted in the club being relegated from the Danske Bank Premiership.

Carrick were in the dock over a what the IFA described as a breach of Article 23.1 of its Disciplinary Code. The charge related to Haveron’s presence on the touchline during the club’s victory against Dungannon Swifts on April 23.

The sanction for such an offence is a minimum fine of £350 and forfeiture of the match on a 3-0 scoreline. That would have seen Carrick deducted three points which would have left them bottom of the Premiership and automatically down.

The IFA hearing took place on Wednesday evening with news breaking that the Gers would remain in the top flight just after 8:30pm.

The IFA released the following statement on the hearing in which it said members of the Discipline Committee found ‘that the interests of justice were best served by not imposing a sanction in all the circumstances’.

“The Carrick Rangers Disciplinary Challenge was heard this evening. The Committee heard from representatives of the club and their legal counsel.

“The Discipline Committee considered the matter at length. It found that the Club did not explain to the Committee’s satisfaction the reasons why the start date for the suspension set out in the initial charge letter (18 April 2016) was not complied with and therefore the challenge from Carrick Rangers was not upheld.

“The Committee took into account the points made on behalf of the club and decided to exercise its discretion under the overriding objective as outlined in Articles 1.6 and 1.7 of the Disciplinary Code and found that no sanction should be applied.

“In applying its discretion it took into account the following:

·what it found to be the honest intention of the club to serve a suspension

· the fact that three matches had been served and;

· points made regarding possible confusion in the way in which the suspension was to be implemented.

“The Committee was mindful of the positions of other parties potentially affected by this decision but found that the interests of justice were best served by not imposing a sanction in all the circumstances.”

Carrick finished 10th in the Premiership thanks to a last-gasp Miguel Chines overhead kick in the 2-1 win over Ballinamallard on the final day of the campaign.

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