THE VCFL Area Appeals Board has deducted four premiership points from Mornington Peninsula Nepean Football League club Pakenham for starting an ineligible player two weeks ago.

But the board was forced to dismiss a case involving a Narre Warren footballer who is also believed to have played without a clearance.

The MPNFL failed to substantiate that Narre Warren's Brad Scalzo was ineligible when he took to the field for the club in June.

The two clubs fronted the tribunal on Wednesday for starting their players without a clearance from VFL side Casey Scorpions.

VCFL operations manager Brett Connell said the minimum fine Pakenham would receive was $500 on top of the loss of four premiership points.

Connell said the VCFL would take up the case involving the Narre Warren footballer after MPNFL was unable to substantiate its claims.

"In Narre's case it wasn't as if it wasn't proven, it just wasn't substantiated," Connell said.

"The (MPNFL) league had some issues with how it was going to approach the case.

"Under our rules the league must substantiate that the player was ineligible, then it is a matter of the appeals board applying the level of the fine, which is no less than $500.

"In our minds, there is no doubt he was ineligible."

The VCFL will now take up the Narre Warren case.

The league and the club will appear before another appeals board next week.

WIMMERA will field three umpires for tomorrow's VCFL District League game against South Australia in Stawell.

Wimmera umpires president Graeme Cox will be behind the goals, coach Cameron Pickering and young boundary umpire Chris Delahunty have scored the job of officiating in tomorrow's big game.

The trio's selection is a major coup for the Wimmera district which boasts a strong umpiring fraternity.

Pickering will be joined in the centre by a South Australian umpire for tomorrow's match.

Article first appeared: 28 July 2007   Herald Sun