As the stench of relegation grows fouler at Upton Park, across town, the Premiership prospects of another London club face a different threat. The potential for a fixturing nightmare is enormous, and the FA only have themselves to blame.
Queens Park Rangers’ 2-0 triumph at Vicarage Road last Saturday should have signaled unbridled euphoria for the west London club as they celebrated their return to the Premiership after a 15-year absence.
But the mood was tempered by the knowledge that the club would face an FA disciplinary hearing into the 2009 transfer of Argentinian midfielder Alejandro Faulin to Loftus Road.
The hearing commenced on Tuesday, and is expected to be resolved on Friday, a mere 24 hours before the final day of the Championship season.
QPR face seven charges relating to the signing, and if found guilty of one or more offences, could be docked as many as 15 points, stripping the club of its automatic promotion and forcing it back into the playoff battle for the third promotion spot.
If, as expected, the FA do hand down a similar punishment to that given to Luton Town in 2008, an appeal seems a mere formality. The complexities in the case are numerous, and the matter may very well be headed for the courts.
Here’s where the situation becomes murky.
The two-legged fixtures for the playoffs commence on the 12/13th May, with the return legs taking place on 16/17th May, leading into the 30th May final at Wembley.
With the 3-7 June being an international weekend, and England hosting Switzerland at Wembley in a Euro 2012 qualifier, it is conceivable that a protracted legal battle could push games into the middle of June – particularly problematic given that fixturing for both the Premier League and Championship is expected to finalised by mid-June.
By training and playing into the English summer, it would also reduce the length of the end-of-season break for the two teams involved in the Championship playoff final, and for the winner, further decrease their chances of Premiership survival before a ball has even been kicked in the new season.
Unquestionably, the most disappointing aspect of this entire scenario has been the delayed response of the FA. After learning of the possible breaches in October last year, it took the FA until March to announce the breaches , and a further two months to convene the hearing.
Before Saturday’s 2-0 at Watford, the Rs had collected only six points from its last 15, meaning it has had to wait until the second last day of the season to be promoted, as the club has seen its dominant, double-digit lead it was wielded over the Championship for the last few months reduced.
Is it possible that the FA’s inaction has been a result of them sitting on their hands, anxiously hoping the club would hold a 15-point break over third at the end of the season, rendering their decision irrelevant?
Whether this is the case or not, it hasn’t eventuated, and the problem created is now very real. Decisions must now be made, and if QPR are found to have breached the rules, in all fairness they must be punished accordingly.
Friday’s outcome will nervously be anticipated by long-suffering Rs fans, as well as supporters of the clubs across the Welsh border.
Let’s hope that the course of justice isn’t perverted by a governing body looking to save itself some trouble.
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