The IFA Appeals' Board has dismissed Tummery Athletic's appeal following the Fermanagh and Western Football Association's decision to dismiss them from the Mulhern Cup.

This arose at the Mulhern Cup game against Derrychara United on Saturday February 12 when Tummery brought on a fourth substitute.

Tummery won the game 3-2 after extra time but Derrychara subsequently protested to the Fermanagh and Western FA on the grounds that the fourth substitute used by Tummery was in contravention of the rules of the Mulhern Cup. The protest was considered at a meeting of the Fermanagh and Western FA held on February 21 which resulted in Derrychara's protest being upheld and Tummery were dismissed from the competition and fined £75.

It subsequently turned out that the Derrychara appeal was out of order and they then withdrew from the competition.

Tummery appealed on a number of grounds. They felt that they were misled by the match official on the day who had told them that they could use a fourth substitute while they also argued that there are no current rules for the Mulhern Cup.

They also felt that there were procedural irregularities in the hearing of the protest and that there was a weakness in the COMET Football Management System's record management.

The Appeals' Board considered each of the grounds of the appeal.

On the referee misleading Tummery, the Appeals' Board determined that it is the responsibility of the club playing in the competition to be aware of the rules. They acknowledged that the referee admitted that he missed the note from the referee supervisor on the number of substitutes allowed but they stated that it is not the referee's role to ensure that club's are aware of the rules of each competition.

The Appeals' Board also ruled that whilst the rules on the Fermanagh and Western FA website have an outdated heading, they remain current until amended and that Tummery had been in attendance at AGMs when rule changes were tabled as an agenda item and no changes to the rules were made.

They also stated that there was no evidence of impropriety in the hearing of the protest while on COMET they again stressed that it is for each club to be aware of the rules of the competition.

The Appeals' Board acknowledged that they did have some sympathy for Tummery but reiterated that it is the onus of the club to determine the rules of each competition they play in and abide by those rules. They therefore dismissed the appeal by Tummery and upheld the decision of the Fermanagh and Western FA.

The decision now means that the competition can progress with Mountjoy to play Magheraveely next Saturday to see who progresses to a semi-final meeting against Enniskillen Rangers.

"When you read the decision form the Appeals Committee it was fairly straightforward in the fact that Tummery had broken the rules. Ignorance isn't a defence it is the club's responsibility and that was the determination," said Fermanagh and Western FA Chairman Neil Jardine, who was pleased that the ruling has been made quickly.

"You are always concerned that these things would drag and drag and impinge on other rounds of the competition but now we are able to schedule the outstanding quarter final match between Mountjoy and Magheraveely and whoever wins will have a minimum of two weeks before the semi-final. The timings are all back on track again."