Charlemont High principal Garth Gayle says the school will rebound from being knocked out of the second round of the ISSA/WATA daCosta Cup football competition after being docked six points for the use of an ineligible player in two Zone K games against Dinthill Technical.

Charlemont High had reported to the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) that they had used an ineligible player in two games against Dinthill Technical.

“As soon as we found out, we made the report to ISSA. That’s how I operate: integrity and fair play above all else,” Gayle told the Jamaica Observer yesterday.

“We think this team was better than last year’s. We will rise like the phoenix, we will bounce back,” he said.

Kavi Meeks, head coach of the team that won the Ben Francis knock-out last season — their first senior schoolboy football title — told the Observer that the player in question, who had transferred from another school in the zone, had “tricked the system”, by falsifying exam results to gain entry to Charlemont’s 12th grade.

On Wednesday, ISSA announced in a press release that its disciplinary committee had ruled that Charlemont High was found “guilty of using an ineligible player” in the daCosta Cup football matches against Dinthill. The matches were played on Saturday, September 21, 2019 and Saturday, October 5, 2019.

“Dinthill has been awarded the games with a score of 3-0 margin and three points for each game,” the release added.

Charlemont had recorded a 3-2 victory in one encounter, while the other ended 1-1.

Meeks said he was upset when they found out about the duplicity and how it affected the rest of the team, but he said he thought ISSA’s decision was “kinda harsh”.

Meeks, who is in his second season at Charlemont, said he had been hoping that given they were the ones who brought the matter to the governing body there would have been some leniency.

“We were not aware of what the boy did, we had nothing to do with it, and we were the ones to bring it to the attention of ISSA, but we must respect their decision,” he said.

After ISSA’s intervention, Charlemont High were left with just two points, and with a game left to be played tomorrow, it is impossible for them to advance past the first round.

Dinthill Technical improve to seven points with the awarding of the two games and will need at least a draw against zone winners McGrath High tomorrow to advance to the second round which is set to start next week.