On Monday, the Turku club FC Inter submitted an objection to the Football Association about AC Oulu’s lineup on Sunday. Oulu won 1–0, but if the club has broken competition regulations, Inter will win 3–0.
AC Oulu beat Turku FC Inter 1–0 at home in the Veikkausliiga, the Finnish men’s football premier league, last Sunday. The final result put the team from Oulu ahead of the team from Turku in the standings.
On Monday, Inter submitted an objection to the Finnish Football Association because, according to the club, there were not enough Finnish-raised (SK) players in Oulu’s lineup.
SK players are considered to be players who have spent at least three years in a Finnish club between the ages of 12 and 21. According to the Finnish Football Association’s competition regulations, at least half of the lineup must be these players.
With a win, Inter would cling to the place in the upper end series, with three rounds left in the regular season. Inter will still face KuPS, IFK Mariehamn and Ilves. AC Oulu still plays against FC Honka, FC Lahte and Helsinki IFK.
Calum Ward; Riku Selander, Miika Koskela, Sandro Embaló, Noah Pallas; Mehdi Hetemaj, Magnus Breitenmoser, Jere Kallinen; Ibra Sekajja, Rasmus Karjalainen, Samuel Anini Jr.
Substitutes: Nuutti Kaikkonen, Rafinha, Rafael Floro, Roan Nogha, Otso Liimatta, Lucas Morais and Michael López.
The director of the football league’s competition operations Pekka Soini says that the decision will come at the beginning of next week at the latest, because AC Oulu has a week to give its own response.
– I will make a decision quickly after the consideration has been received, Soini says.
He states that he cannot say anything specific while the case is being processed.
Are you able to take a position on whether AC Oulu has violated the Palloliitto’s competition regulations?
– I won’t speculate on that until all the parties involved have been consulted and all formalities have been realized.
Does Oulu’s counterpart have any significance?
– Everything the parties say is always important. But there’s no point in speculating on the final outcome until all the relevant issues have been clarified.
Is there room for interpretation?
– Not as such. The rule is quite clear. If there have not been enough SK players, then the non-SK player is considered ineligible to play.
Can AC Oulu’s objection change a possible verdict/rule?
– I don’t want to comment on such a thing. The matter must be handled through the processes that we normally have. It is not customary to comment on unfinished matters.