Common sense prevails

So Dunfermline, somewhat against the odds, manage to salvage their Scottish Cup campaign as their expulsion from the competition is successfully overturned on appeal. A replay and a massive fine are the end result, one which, given the circumstances, is probably the correct one. For Dunfermline, preparations for the replay can begin but the club must feel the pressure as the stakes where raised considerably once the verdict was announced.

In addition to a replay The Pars, currently shoring up the middle of the table in the First Division, where fined £30,000 for their troubles; they've also been denied the appearance fee in the replay against Second Division Stenhousemuir. The latter is never going to be much, but the loss of the former could be a real blow should Stenhousemuir somehow win the replay. It seems unlikely, but stranger things have happened.

At the end of the day, the SFA and their disciplinary committee are nothing more than a wonderous wheel of fortune. It's a gamble: you rate your chances, take into account a certain random factor (i.e. the SFA's penchant for inconsistency) and decide whether or not an appeal is going to work out for you.

It was certainly in Dunfermline's interest to take a gamble. According to Chairman John Yorkston, the club stood to make around £250,000 from playing Celtic, making the fine handed down a mere drop in the ocean.

Dunfermline where hoping - gambling, in a sense - that an independent panel would agree with the minority of fans in Scotland that the harsh punishment handed out to the club did not befit the crime (which effectively amounted to someone not reading their email), while Stenhousemuir where hoping that the integrity of the game, a phrase often heard spoken by SFA Chief Executive Gordon Smith these last few weeks would be upheld.

So what now for Stenhousemuir? According to the Ochilview club, an anticipated windfall of well over £100,000 has now been denied to them, and for a team that draws in an average of 551 supporters per game, that's quite a lot of wind to fall. They're free to appeal of course, but they'll be wary of the experiences of East Fife, who lost an appeal recently (they’d tried to have former player Kevin Fotheringham's ban overturned, unsuccessfully) and are now being chased by the SFA for £15,000 in legal fees.

Perhaps this might explain why they're probably not going to appeal this decision, or for that matter their lack of an appeal after the original fixture when it became apparent that their opponents had been in breach of not just one, but four SFA rule; Stenhousemuir just took their original defeat on the chin.

The chances of this appeal being overturned on another appeal is considerably less than zero, given that the SFA are now following precedent (Brechin City fielded an ineligible player in their Scottish Cup game and where fined and forced to replay the game) even though it took an independent body to tell them this.

So Stenhousemuir should contend themselves with a replay and the revenue it brings. Playing at home might give them a bit more confidence and courage, because at the end of the day, Celtic are still there waiting for them. All they have to do is win. And as an added incentive, if they do win, having played this fixture twice, they'll have made even more money to add to the lump sum that awaits them after their game against Celtic.

In the end, I tend to support this decision, as it's the one that has football at heart, and not big business or the SFA's petty laws. While the rules are there to be followed, the original verdict was harsh: no legs where broken, no riots ensued in the stands, no coins were thrown and no stadium wrecked. To punish a club for an administrative error that allowed an ineligible player to play in a game that was effectively over after 30 minutes may have followed the rules, but not common sense.

Having said all that, my only hope is that Scottish football doesn't turn into a hunting ground for overzealous clubs, players and their lawyers. This week we've had several cases of action being taken - or threatened - through lawyers and appeals panels as perceived wrongs are sought to be righted.

At the end of the day, football is about the 90 minutes on the park and not about 90 minutes in front of an independent panel.