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I understand the club have to be diplomatic in their verbage .... but we do not ... Someone is LYING through their teeth and arses are being well and truly covered. so I have as simple question WHEN was this ban served ? The answer to this, and the chance to verify it will put this to bed, anything else will not.

In the unlikely event that we were to get any sort of second chance out of this, I wouldn't feel at all guilty about us benefiting from an admin oversight on this particular occasion because Hearts, on the point of going bust and unable to pay wages, suddenly bring in millions of pounds worth of talent from Liverpool days before this big game. And as it turned out, Wilson and Ngoo were probably their best players. I know Hearts haven't broken any rules in bringing them in, in the same way that Starbucks, Amazon etc haven't broken any rules by not paying any UK tax. It just doesn't feel right.

Yes i‘m sure it was an error. But the error was noticed BEFORE the game and the SFA alledgedly told Hearts to play him anyway. That‘s what annoys me. If it was an oversight noticed after the match then I wouldn‘t be bothered. The transfer embargo gets lifted, they sign 2 Premiership players, one which in ineligible for the game. They speak to the SFA who know fine well that the rules state he should be suspended, but can‘t find it in their paperwork. Meanwhile clubs like Caley Thistle run things with such a tight budget but have to suffer because of the error.... that was found BEFORE the game - according to STV article.

Right, let's put it in perspective, it was a big disappointment to miss out on a Hampden awayday but it was just the League cup after all and we've got the 'proper' cup still to look forward to. And despite all the woe at Easter Road, everything else at the weekend was going in our favour with all the games ending in draws! We still have clear blue water between us and 4th place and now have 2 games in hand on Hibs, Aberdeen and United A win on Wednesday at Paisley sets us up very nicely so let's ditch the negative vibes and get back to being all happy, smiley and proud.

Perhaps the club can't stir it with the press, but CJT can and should as the fans voice. There are some decent journalists out there who would love to get their teeth into this.

Taken from: http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/resources/documents/Disciplinary/CurrentSuspensions/Season2009/10/March2010/PlayerSuspensions/LOS36(25Mar).pdf Someone needs to prove he didn't serve the ban in the "Scottish League Cup" per above?!

Hi guys, As you will see from my name im a Hibs fan. Just wanted to say I hope your club takes this all the way and demands answers from the powers that be, which they seem to be in the process of doing. If this has been proven to be the case and he should have been suspended I would expect the game to be replayed, and maybe this time Billy "goal machine" McKay will net the winner after that shocker of a miss on Saturday

Right, that's it I demand an answer... We as decent fans deserve to know... This is a question can which quite simply can no longer be dismissed... It's about someone from the SFA made a statement, somebody there MUST know... "Who put the 'O' and the 'Y' in county???"

Really disappointed that the club have let this drop on what appears to be the basis of single phone call....and the non-information provided. As I understand it, and I did a lot of reading last night (not on twitter), we would not have expected to see the suspension for the Scottish League Cup show on the certificate from the FA when he returned to Scotland as they are only duty bound to show suspensions outstanding from FA regulated leagues and tournaments. It is the responsibility of the receiving association to ensure a player has no issues outstanding from any previous registration with them. If the SFA/SFL have screwed up, of course they are going to seek a quick and easy way out....and they seem to have achieved that.

Can't understand if this attitude of "we should just give up". Had we done that with the 10,000 seater rule in 2004 we might never have gotten into the SPL!

Glory hunting b@st@rd!

I would rather read the match thread than this crap. We should have won but we got beat.

Even if nothing eventually come of this then surely the posters on that Hibs.net forum should be thanked for trying at least.

To those who were responsible for this, you should hear loud and clear that today you did our fans and our club great harm. Just because you got away with it at Dingwall, and were warned against a repeat does not mean that you got away with it this time. Easter road is brimming with CCTV cameras and you were caught on film. It's just a question of whether or not anyone from either club or the police can identify you. I suspect that they can, and if we can help to identify you, we will. It is utterly unacceptable for any ICT fan to throw things on to the field of play. As Caley Jags Together, we are committed to representing fans views, fans perceptions and fans rights. We are about to meet with the Police about chanting at derby games and you, whoever you are, have just made our job ten times harder. Please, we never want to see this again.

I'm glad we are following things up as we should, but the clamoring by hibs fans over this is pathetic. This has nothing to do with you. There is enough Hearts/Hibs pi*h on every single P&B thread without you bring it over here. You got pumped 5-1. Get over it. What a nice friendly welcome. I think your going a bit over the top to be fair, Hibs fans are, as any fan would having a good old chuckle at the prospect of their rivals getting to a final then being forced to replay or worse thrown out (which IMO probably wont happen and may be wishful thinking), whats wrong with that?

Go on, we've got time! OK - long time subscribers will remember that pre 1994, Hearts were my big team, it's no big secret. And now they are my wee team, that's no secret either. I was there with a mate who I had previously forced to watch a game at Tynecastle from our end. Saturday was payback. And it was one of the worst experiences I have had at a football match in a very long time. And the really annoying thing? Hearts lost loads of poxy semi-finals when I was there supporting them! Yer a feckin jinks!!!

I could easily chose to hate your childish and pathetic attempt at English grammar, but as it is of no great importance or consequence, and caused no harm (much like the smoke bomb), I will instead forget all about it and continue happily with my life. I suggest you try and do likewise. Difference is, the "poor" grammar can cause no real harm - unlike the smoke bomb.

I could easily chose to hate your childish and pathetic attempt at English grammar, but as it is of no great importance or consequence, and caused no harm (much like the smoke bomb), I will instead forget all about it and continue happily with my life. I suggest you try and do likewise.

Worst howler: Adam Most important howler: Billy

The fault is definitely north of the border as far as I am concerned ..... The International Transfer certificate, amongst other contract and eligibility related stuff, confirms that he is not currently serving a ban, or due to serve one from the English FA that would be applicable internationally ... ie. there is no impending ban in England. It has sweet (S)FA to do with any disciplinary issues in Scotland. The ITC should be consolidated with any paperwork that was in existence when he left Scotland to give a full picture ... ie. no ban from England, but an outstanding League cup ban from Scotland, ergo, a one match ban to be served. Putting the conspiracy hat on, I suggest Hearts knew he was banned, possibly because the player asked, and they asked the question, but after getting the all-clear from an inept bureaucrat (are there any other types in the offices in Glasgow?) decided to play him anyway ..... a risk they decided to take ..... and a consequence now up in the air unless there is a truthful explanation of why he was allowed to play

some poor lass when flirty, frisky & plastered

We could get our fans to not turn up at games.................wait, we already do

What? Call ourselves "The Caley Thistle" and get boycott everything?

All I want to see is an investigation and explanation from the SFA as to how they managed to make this balls up.

That fecking miss of the century by McKay !!

Because the suspension was specific to the Scottish League Cup ... The SPL and SFA Cup are not that competition as you yourself point out in the last sentence. That's why i posted my 1 single question above .... WHEN was this ban served ? If it was served in the Scottish Cup or SPL then tell us ... If it was served in England then tell us. In both cases, it doesnt sound like it is possible as it was a ban in a specific competition not a 'next game' ban that crosses competitions (or organisations)

I think #1 is wrong unless it is a straight red card for violent conduct meaning the player is suspended immediately for the next game in any competition. In that scenario, I believe it may be enforceable worldwide for the next FIFA sanctioned game the player takes part in so basically any game in any organised league (including welfare/amateur). Going by the documentation already shown in this thread, this was not the case as it clearly states he would be suspended for his next fixture in the Scottish League Cup, not the Scottish League, nor the SFA Cup, nor by extension the English League or any cups in England. As far as I can remember (from my days with the Amateur League), that suspension is enforceable on his return even if the player moves away for a decade or more .... Bottom line is that Its an administrative cockup at some level and ultimately, whether deserved or not, the blame on this lies with Hearts as the rules state the club is responsible. It doesnt matter who the actual numbnuts that failed to realise the issue was, and whether they were employed by Hearts or the SFA, and I actually sympathise a little with Hearts here as it sounds like they tried to check things out ... but based on this error, they fielded an ineligble player who may or may not have had a direct bearing on the result. If we had been hammered, then I would say let it slide, the better team won on the day, but with a game that went to ET then penalties, even though he did not take one, its a very tough call and my ICT bias says we need a little bit more than a perfunctory brush-off. Club may be a little hog-tied on what they can say, in public at least, and I hope they are doing the proverbial duck and looking calm on top but pedalling like **** underneath !!!! but either way please, CJT, get your teeth into this one ! We may not get a replay out of it, and we may not deserve one, but we do at the very least deserve an explanation ......

I can assure you that CJT give consideration to all matters where the general feeling among our members and the wider fan community is such that discussion/action is needed. As the board are all volunteers with day jobs then it is impossible for us to give any instant response in regards our intentions on how we are to go about that...but it will happen at the earliest opportunity. In the meantime I have asked for some clarification on the statment from the official website as it's not clear if that is the final word on the matter or if the club do actually intend to look at it further.

Its important for people to know that we didnt lose fair and square on Saturday and any effort to have Hearts punished isn't just us sneaking our way back in through the back door on some obscure legal technicality, it doesn't make us bad losers. If Wilson didn't serve his ban, we were cheated, he scored a pen in the shootout ffs.

What's annoying me about this is that fine fair enough the boy had a clear certificate when he came back to Scotland but they won't bother their arses to actually find out from the FA if indeed he actually served the ban. The club can ask the SFA but the vital question is being left unanswered - Was the ban actually served? It's happened before. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-472843/Ban-glee-McCulloch.html Sure it's a technical glitch and we lost on the day yada yada yada... however Danny Wilson played 120 minutes of football and played a part in an equaliser. What would have happened if he served his ban? We could of been at Hampden in March.

I agree starchief. Wilson also scored a penalty!! When Dunfermline got found out they were 4-0 winners however still had to have a reply and it wasnt dunfermlines fault remember, it was an admibistrative error by the SFA. We should at least be given a replay! As a paying member of ICT i fully expect my club to fight this!!

exactly what i got from it too. seems someone somewhere has swept it under the carpet. I have to agree with these comments, as there's nobody giving official comments on this on a Sunday night. Hearts clearly thought there was a problem, or they wouldn't have asked. Regardless of the answers given to them, they never tried too hard to find out, as the joint detective work carried out yesterday show he was ineligible. Hearts obviously have the advantage of having Wilson to hand, and he knows this without having to search the archives. In the rules regarding eligibility (thanks to CaleyD on Twitter): 8.2 It shall be the responsibility of each Club participating in the Competition to ensure that its players are eligible to play in any League Cup match. If a player participates in a League Cup match, such player being ineligible to play in the Cup match as a result of his suspension by The Scottish Football Association or for any other reason, the Club for which the player participates in the League Cup match shall be liable to such penalty as the Board may decide. It's "the responsibility of each Club" - not the SFA, SPL, SFL or the English FA.

I had to read that STV article a couple of times just to be clear. But what i'm getting from it is: An un-named spokesman for the SFL confirmed that he was sent off in his last League Cup game. He then confirmed that the penalty for this is suspension of the next League Cup game. The SFL know this. Hearts know this. But someone didn't write it on a piece of paper so they thought feck it he can play!

In the event that the ruling is that Hearts be disqualified, I wonder if that would mean that the match is deemed not to have taken place and therefore the bookings which would otherwise rule 3 of our key players out of the final would also be deemed not to apply? Probably an academic question because the cynic in me says that whatever should happen here, Hearts will not be thrown out of the competition. They will say Hearts were not aware of the situation and acted in good faith. They will simply apply the ban to Wilson in the final and deem that as appropriate action. But the issue here is not whether Hearts have acted in good faith or not. If the rules have been broken then it is ICT who are the victims. It was a very tight match and had Hearts not played a first choice defender who appears to have been ineligible then there must be doubt as to whether the result would have been different. We should not suffer from their failure to abide by the rules of the competition whether they were aware of the situation or not. It's the same principle as being done for speeding in a 30mph limit - claiming you were not aware of the speed limit is no defence.

The club are aware of the situation.

Just a word on the SPL games this weekend. all three games were draws so the 6 clubs involved shared 6 points between them instead of 9. We are 7 points ahead of the team in 7th with 2 games in hand.

Okay, yesterday was a massive disappointment. The team underperformed, our star striker was badly off form and we lost out in the lottery of a penalty shoot out. However, we still have a great opportunity of a day in the sun at the National Stadium and that in the biggest domestic cup competition of all. The team are capable, they owe it to themselves and to the fans to make amends and go all the way in the Scottish Cup and crown this special season in style. We have all had the opportunity to have our say on the events at Easter Road but that is done and gone now. Time to get behind the next cup campaign and right yesterday's wrong starting at Rugby Park next week.

Ha ha. So when Terry advised Roberts to "put it where the keeper can't get it" he should have perhaps elaborated a bit.

I don't recall the Hearts keeper getting near any of our penalties, especially Roberts one.

Being able to, finally, stand at an SPL ground yesterday was one of the day's highlights. Well done to whoever it was who turned a blind eye. Football attendances would multiply 100-fold* if this was the general policy. *I'm exaggerating for effect

Being completely honest I had also forgotten this even took place until I saw this thread. I work with Pyrotechnics on a regular basis and from what I saw of the thing that landed by the pitch it looked like a very small commercial type almost certainly not metallic and would probably weigh around about the same as an orange. It's not unusual to see the deployment of coloured smoke at games in the UK although obviously not to the extent as on the continent but generally it is within the stand rather than lobbed onto the field of play. Personally I'm rather blasé about it, it neither improved not detracted from my day out as i forgot all about it with the events that followed however it is causing the small group of fans we do have to bicker amongst ourselves which we can hardly afford.

Likely not...but we didn't win and the 18 year old who lost it for us was a Marsella pick, endorsed by Terry,,,and not one of the homegrown youth players. I feel for Roberts because I think that losing a match as a result of his failure is going to do bugger all for his confidence going forward....but I do wonder why he was picked to take the penalty in the first place......I really do! Shame on you! We did not loose the match because of his failure. It was great work from him that set up the chance for MacKay in extra time. We lost because Billy failed to tap in the easiest of chances and because Andrew Shinnie missed a less easy chance a little later. Had either scored then there would have been no penalties. Even then, had more experienced players such as Draper and Warren demonstrated the same willingness to take a kick as he did then maybe he would not have been put in that difficult position. You say "I feel for Roberts because I think that losing a match as a result of his failure is going to do bugger all for his confidence going forward". What will do bugger all for his confidence is people like you blaming him unfairly.

IMO young Roberts needs to be handed the ball the next time we get a pen, scoring from the spot will do him the world of good.

I live in Edinburgh so have lots of Jambo mates who were at the game so spoke with them afterwards. Not one person mentioned the flare. In fact I, and probably everyone else, forgot it happened until I saw this thread. No one was injured, nor were they going to be. No one remotely cares other than a few folk on here looking to be offended. It doesn't reflect anything on us or our club in any way. Try and enjoy life a bit more. Thanks.

Leaving aside the politics of what harm this might or might not do in terms of relationships and discussions with the authorities - a subject I do not feel I can comment on, although clearly it is not going to help - I wonder just what the point of doing this was? If the person who threw it thinks of themselves as a supporter of the club I wonder how he (or she) thinks their actions demonstrated support to the club? I can think of none. The potential harm had the flare fallen short and landed in the crowd is obvious. And the risk to the person who threw it of being identified, prosecuted and banned from future games is also obvious. Utterly, utterly stupid.

I dont understand what the CJT group are going to ask in this meeting with the police, are you going to ask them if its ok for ICT fans to call Ross County fans Gypsy B@stards? Everybody knows why they get searched and everybody knows why offensive singing at football games is not appropriate, how can searching fans be questioned at all when some take smoke bombs into the stadium? Are you going to have the police explain the obvious? You don't represent anybody but yourselves, so you cant know others motives nor do you have any right defending or policing them. If you want a real issue that CJT can raise with the police, how about the age old one of having different rules for home fans than away fans, especially the OF fans who come to the TCS. If they can reassure you that not a single offensive song, no missiles and not a single punter will be allowed to stand in the away end at the Celtic game later this month then, you will have achieved something. As for identifying fans and helping the police catch them, thats fine too but again, do it for the away end v Celtic, bring your own cameras if need be. If theres a single decent negotiator amongst you it won't be a difficult point to press home.

Ok I'll leave CJT out of this, and address it purely as a caley thistle fan. This is a purely personal reply to the points raised above. This is the second time that kick off has been held up in a game involving us which is televised and is therefore contracted to begin at a certain time. The SFL will be unhappy about this, and can sanction the club. The club is responsible for the conduct of its fans home and away and are in an awkward position with this, and I believe that we were warned after the County game. Yes, local police will deal with it if they can identify anyone at the time but so will Focus, their specialist football unit. This will result in increased surviellance on all ICT fans, increased bag searches (this happened after the County game and people complained - few made the connection) a more controlling approach to us at away grounds and less leeway for standing etc. There are unintended consequences here, but consequences none the less. Because CCTV records crowds at all SPL venues, someone is going to be identified and prosecuted. They will belong to the same group of lads who bring colour and passion to our support (they did again yesterday) and one of them will end up with a criminal record over this. It does involve a group of people - you can't lob a smoke canister over a crowd of people with no one around you seeing it and your mates not knowing you had the thing, and those around you are associated and implicated in what you do. These are the same lads that sing and chant and they will be targetted by association, and that would be a great shame. Can you honestly say hand on heart that they will not sing anything about gypsy travellers at the next game and put themselves at risk with a police force that is already watching them? Even with the intervention of others to clarify what is and isn't acceptable to sing /chant, we know one thing - it is clearly an offence to throw pyrotechnics at a football match. No grey area here. So I'm not concerned by causing guilt by association with a group of our fans, they have effectively done that themselves. I'm not convinced that the police will seperate out the issues, they will simply look to apply whatever legislation when enforcing the law. They will have done that with any others arrested at the game, and I don't want to see them have to do it to more.

Fair enjoyed my afternoon down Grant Street,cheers for the heads up Charles. As you say, good atmosphere, bumped into several folk i knew but didn't realise were Clach followers.Football was surprisingly good to watch with Brora playing some good stuff but no end product to show and as you say the Clach keeper pulling off a couple of great stops. Clach probably deserved the points with the better work rate and a well taken goal but were hanging on a wee bit in the later stages. A couple of pints in the Nip Inn rounded off a new experience for me and one which i will definitely be making a more regular occurrence. Plus points.....price,atmosphere,no hassle from stewards/polis,pie and bovril hot and good value,standing at football,3.00 pm Saturday KO negative points......none C'mon the Clach!!!!

I had the impression he didn't really want to be facing the penalties