Jersey Bulls title hopes in balance after points deduction
Jersey Bulls' hopes of winning the Combined Counties Premier South title have been hit after the club was docked points for fielding an ineligible player.The islanders have had three points deducted and fined £120 for playing a player who should have been suspended in their 4-0 win over Tooting and Mitcham United on 20 March.Toby Ritzema had passed the threshold for a suspension after picking up too many yellow cards.The deduction drops the island side from first to third in the table ahead of their final game of the season on Saturday. A win in that game against Sandhurst Town would have seen the Bulls clinch the title and automatic promotion into the Isthmian League.The deduction means they have 90 points, two behind second-placed Whyteleafe and three off Redhill who are now top.They could still win the title if they win and Redhill were to lose their final game of the season to mid-table Guildford City along with Whyteleafe drawing or losing at fifth-placed Fleet Town.Should they finish second or third they would have a home tie in the play-offs, with the teams ranked second to fifth facing one another for the second promotion place."Administrative staff at Jersey Bulls FC realised an error had been made and reported it to the League and Jersey FA immediately," the club said in a statement."Despite efforts to set out the significant mitigation the decision based on the lack of clarity on the number of yellow cards, the Combined Counties League have confirmed the three-point deduction."As the club considers it's options, we'd like to apologise to our amazing players and coaching staff, and ask that our fantastic supporters rally behind the team at this crucial stage of the season."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
a day ago
- BBC News
Bulls boss set to give youngsters a chance in new league
Jersey Bulls manager Elliot Powell says his side's promotion to the Isthmian League will give him the chance to develop the island's best young beat Cobham 1-0 in the Combined Counties Premier South play-off final to earn promotion to Isthmian League South up to the fourth tier of non-league football is the highest the club has been since it was founded in 2019. "We've got a great pool of local talent - I think we used 38 players last season and 36 were based on the island at the start of the season," said Powell, who brought in former professionals Kurtis Guthrie and Paul McKay in February after they moved to Jersey."We know there's another generation of talented youngsters coming through and they're going to be really important for us in the next couple of years, and also probably in this first season as well where we'll need some fresh energy to kick-start us again after a short turnaround."There's a good five, six, maybe seven lads that will be knocking on the door for a place who will probably be playing at the Island Games for the Jersey FA side and get their opportunity to impress and maybe force their way in at the start of the season." Powell is realistic about the Bulls' chances of promotion next club does not pay its players, whereas many of the other sides in their league - which forms part of the eighth tier of the English football pyramid - will have substantial financial resources to put towards their squads."There's some big sides with some big budgets," Powell told BBC Radio Jersey."Whyteleafe will come up with us and we know they'll strengthen and they'll be looking for back-to-back promotions, and if not even higher than that."We know there'll be teams with huge financial power in our league, there's going to be teams that are physically a lot bigger than us."But we've shown that we can mix it up in various different ways, whether it's a physical game like Redhill or Fleet Town, we've shown we can compete, and when it's more of a footballing game like Cobham in the final, we came out on the right side of that as well."So we're really looking forward to it, it's going to test us in a number of different ways."But these are the opportunities that the club has been gearing up for and trying to provide for local players, and it's one we're really relishing and looking forward to taking come August."
BBC News
6 days ago
- BBC News
Strikers call time on Jersey Bulls careers
Forwards Karl Hinds and Kieran Lester will leave Jersey Bulls following the club's promotion to the Isthmian was the island side's top scorer in their inaugural season in 2019-20 before the campaign was cut short by the Covid-19 pandemic. Having spent some time away from the club, Hinds returned last summer under new boss Elliot Powell and scored nine times to take his overall tally to 28 goals in 72 returned to the side earlier this season after an injury crisis and scored a number of key goals in his final campaign as he ended his time at the club with 19 goals in 79 brother Adam, who was part of the Bulls' backroom team, is also leaving the club.
ITV News
01-06-2025
- ITV News
Scoring goals and tackling STIs: non-stop football tournament raises £20k for HIV awareness charity
Hundreds of islanders in Jersey took part in a non-stop football tournament on Saturday to raise money for HIV and AIDS awareness charity, TackleAfrica. The opening whistle signalled the start of 12 hours of non-stop play, with each of the six-a-side teams allowed just two additional players to continuously sub in throughout the course of the day. Raising £20,000 for charity, the 'football marathon' was more than just a unique fundraising effort - the game of football is a central part of everything TackleAfrica does. The charity operates in sub-Saharan Africa with the aim of using football to educate communities about avoiding STIs, living with HIV, and supporting others to do the same. Local organiser John Gamble explains: "Tackle uses football as a teaching method - it's a really interactive and engaging way of working with young adults." "We layer in sexual health, AIDS, HIV, FGM messaging into football drills and in that way we find we can get messaging across much more easily, in a visual way that people easily understand." George Warran, TackleAfrica's UK events manager, adds: "For example, we do this drill where the goal would represent genitalia, and footballs would represent STIs." "By adding defences - or condoms - they then can't contract the STIs, because they're practicing safe sex". He adds: "We will see groups of 30, 40 young people with one coach, all engaged, all asking questions, all sharing the message with their friends". The charity then ensure that local football coaches are equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to continue teaching their own communities. The marathon is in its 14th year in Jersey, and saw players of all abilities come together - including two members of the recently-promoted Jersey Bulls. John says: "What started out with 6 teams as a bit of an idea has grown, and become a real fixture in the Jersey football community - and it's a terrific day that people look out for". George adds: "It's one of those things where friends come together, have a blast doing it - but there's a message behind it that people connect with, there's something purposeful we are raising money for".
