Eligibility row could give Institute a lifeline

Institute manager Paul Kee. Picture by Darren Kidd/Press Eye

Another eligibility row is brewing in the Irish League and Warrenpoint Town could be deducted five points and also get booted out of the Irish Cup.

Both the Northern Ireland Football League and the Irish FA are looking into whether recent signing Darren Forsyth is eligible to play for Barry Gray’s side.

The striker who signed for Town last month also played for Glenavon at the start of the season, but wehre the problems start for Warrenpoint is the fact that the 26-year-old also played for Greystones AFC in the Leinster Senior League.

Unfortunately for Town the Wicklow amateur men play at the same time as the Irish League meaning Forsyth will have breached FIFA’s laws of playing for three clubs in the same season.

If Forsyth, who was a substitute in their Irish Cup win over Coleraine and played three league games, is proved to be ineligible then they may lose the points and also get kicked out of the Irish Cup.

Forsyth played against Ballinamallard United, Cliftonville and Glenavon for Warrenpoint and those five points from those games could be deducted and would see Stute just move ahead of them by a point.