The Pompey Chimes Forum

Pompey fined £15k for breaches of the Checkatrade rules.

And FIFA open a disciplinary hearing into the England v Scotland poppy saga.

Spokesperson for all three says 'Your rules are stupid, and we don't give a ****'

What a load of old cobblers. Hopefully we shall not even bother entering next season.

How many other clubs got in trouble for the Checkatrade? Won't do their image much good, so will they sponsor a second year?

The Cincinnati Kid wrote:What a load of old cobblers. Hopefully we shall not even bother entering next season.

I hope you realise that you may have teed that one up but I am resisting the urge to comment.
More seriously having let a number of 'Development sides ' to take part its less credible than it was anyhow [and yes I know our kids are in the last 32.]

Judging by the attendances I'm sure many clubs are losing money even putting these games on.
It's really time to ditch this trophy

uspompeyfan wrote:How many other clubs got in trouble for the Checkatrade? Won't do their image much good, so will they sponsor a second year?

12 in total. This included clubs who fielded their own youth players, won games and progressed in the competition. Apparently this is not allowed if you're a lower division club. Only the bigger clubs are allowed to do that. What a total ****** disgrace. This needs to be binned because I'd worry about them doing stuff like this with the actual league down the line. No one wants to turn up and watch a game against an U23 side.

As for FIFA, rules are rules and both England and Scotland were given a fair warning by them. They can have no complaints.

Excellent statement from Luton Town chief executive Gary Sweet:

“We entered those teams with our eyes wide open and we accept that we would be fined for doing so. While we don’t feel we should be paying ‘fees’ to get our youngsters experience, we view that as an investment in their development.

“We are staggered, however, that we have been fined the maximum amount for our first offence, which was winning away from home at a club from the division above with half-a-dozen first-team regulars in their team.

“We played nine graduates of our academy in that game at Gillingham, and seven against a West Brom side containing four players, two of whom who were internationals and had been transferred for several million pounds, and still beat both.

“We believe our team selection has added value to a competition that was dying last season and is now – with low three-figure attendances at many matches so far – well and truly on its last legs.

“We had the second highest attendance in our one home game against a fellow senior EFL club, which we believe was only because we were playing our youngsters.

“We acknowledge our breach of the competition rules, but does our ‘offence’ make a mockery of the competition any more than a club substituting their first-choice goalkeeper after just a couple of minutes of the game to ensure they met the five-player starting rule.

“Which is more in keeping with the spirit of the game? Which supports the competition’s ethos of promoting young talent more?

“That is clearly disingenuous and by fining us this amount the EFL is effectively saying that promoting young talent is only acceptable if they’re with an EPPP1 club, and they are depriving their own member clubs’ young players access to first-team football.”