The Mariners are seeking permission to have new signing Jason Cummings registered to play in Saturday’s FFA Cup Final against Melbourne Victory, despite the rules precluding any player signed after the semifinals.
Barely 24 hours after Cummings scored on his debut for the club, Mariners CEO Shaun Mielekamp has asked FA to rule his new signing eligible for Saturday night’s showpiece, on the basis that he was signed in a period when Victory were still able to sign players for the FFA Cup.
Under the competition rules, no player signed after the semifinal can then play in the FFA Cup Final. But thanks to COVID delays, Victory’s semifinal was only played on Saturday night – 11 days after the Mariners beat Sydney FC in their semifinal.
In their submission, it’s believed the Mariners have argued that Victory effectively had an advantage in having longer to sign players, and that they should be allowed to register their new signing made in that period.
The move comes just days after the Mariners lost out to hosting the FFA Cup final, and Mielekamp said that “red tape” should be ignored given the complexities of staging the competition amid COVID disruption and postponements.
“We are still awaiting a determination here and we are expecting that common sense will prevail so that the final is the best spectacle it can be; and Jason will be fine to play,” he told KEEPUP. “Every club has made a lot of sacrifices to ensure the Cup is played through the unique impacts that COVID brought this competition.
“The fact that the semi-finals were not played at the same time highlights the challenges the competition has faced. We had signed Jason well before our semi-final and it was only that we had to await his ITC within the (transfer) window which has caused this anomaly.
“The right decision must be made here, Jason has already played for us in the A-League and it is inconceivable that red-tape which was never written to take into account this situation could prevent him from being a show stopper on Saturday night.”
An FFA spokesperson declined to comment.
