Southern League footballers are joining Western League Clubs whilst suspended, thanks to a ruling from the Football Association made at the start of last season.

If a footballer is suspended from playing at Step Four, the level Southern League Paulton Rovers compete at, then they could still be eligible to play at Step Five and below, the place occupied by the Western League in football’s pyramid structure.

An FA document, intended to provide clarification on the key regulation amendments for the 2017/18 season, states that: “All suspensions imposed by a County FA will not affect a participant at Step Four and above, unless dispensation has been given by The FA for the suspension to cover all levels of the game. Likewise, a suspension at Step Four and above will remain at Step Four and above unless dispensation provided to cover all levels of the game.”

Whilst it is understood that severe offences, such as physical violence, would command a total ban, in the majority of cases, suspended players are now eligible to play in Saturday competitions at either the higher or lower level, depending on where their ban originated.

Despite this ruling coming into force at the start of the 2017/18 season, only a few teams are believed to have benefited from this loophole. In order to qualify, the players must be dual-registered, a system that allows non-contracted footballers to be registered to play for more than one club.

The practice of loaning players from club to club is well-established, often providing young players on the fringe of the First Team squad with the opportunity to prove their ability, yet this system can now be manipulated to allow clubs to share players that would have been suspended from competition under the previous regulations.

Whilst some Western League managers are believed to have questioned how such a ruling impacts on the credibility of the competition, others have taken a more philosophical approach. As the season draws to its close, matters of promotion and relegation could be settled by only a handful of games, and the opportunity to bolster squads with high profile signings certainly hasn’t gone unnoticed by a number of managers in the Western League.

Indeed, as many as four Western League sides, if not more, might have benefited from the short-term loan of footballers, regularly playing Southern League football for their parent Club, this season.

The FA’s own clarification document states that “this change will ensure Players and Clubs are not affected by suspensions from another body which operates under a different set of Disciplinary Regulations”. If the principle of the change had come about as a result of footballers suspended from playing Saturday football, not being able to play in a five-a-side league or on a Sunday morning, then few would argue.

However, the Western League pays to be affiliated to the Football Association, promotes Clubs into Step Four, the level the FA appears particularly concerned about, and provides Clubs to compete in the FA’s premier tournament, the FA Cup.

Whatever the intention of the rule change, the Football Association have been made aware of its unintended consequence, yet appears unmoved. Its initial impact was somewhat masked by a lack of understanding surrounding the rule change, but as time goes by more and more Clubs are looking to take advantage of loophole that is seen by some as providing a competitive advantage and by others as an assault on the very integrity of the game.

Ian Nockolds