KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaica Premier League leaders Mt Pleasant FA were fined $25,000 by the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) Competitions Committee for exceeding the number of foreign nationals included on the match card for a third round game last month.

Mt Pleasant FA had listed seven players who did not have Jamaican nationality for a game against Racing United but escaped even more serious punishment after accusations of the St Ann team using ineligible players were thrown out.

The two-time finalists did not lose any points in the ruling which was announced on Tuesday and brought an anticlimactic end to a week-long saga after the charges were brought by defending champions Cavalier SC.

A week ago, Cavalier SC wrote to the JFF’s Competition Committee alleging that Mt Pleasant FA had used a number of ineligible players in six games in the third round as well as breaching the rule that said no more than six foreign players could be included on a match card for any game.

The competitions committee found that Mt Pleasant FA had breached “Article 17.3 of the 2024-25 JPL Regulations that says that any club which fields an ineligible player (participated in the game) shall lose the game,” but added “From the match card received, the committee noted that only 5 players participated in the game.”

The release said further, “there where a player name appears on the team sheet/match card as a list of players available to participate, the club will be fined $25,000, hence the decision to fine Mt Pleasant FA.”

In relation to Article 6.1, which relates to transfer of players which Cavalier SC had alleged to have been breached, the committee said, “as an exception to the rule, a player can be transferred outside the established window” with the exceptions being “the player contract has expired close to the end of the transfer window,” and, “the player contract was terminated close to the end of the transfer window.”

The release said the JFF “have in it’s possession all the termination letters and the International Transfer Certificates (ITC) which indicate that the players were duly transferred to the Mount Pleasant FA,” adding “what is clear is that the breach was done by the players’ former club and not Mount Pleasant.”

The reference is to the claim by Cavalier SC that a number of the players that turned out for Mt Pleasant FA had played for Haitian outfit New Hope in Concacaf Caribbean Championships games as late as January, after the transfer window had closed.

—    Paul Reid