Partick Thistle have requested Sunday’s Scottish League Cup match at Motherwell be replayed after an error prevented the visitors fielding Ricco Diack as a late substitute, BBC Scotland has learned.
The Scottish FA apologised to the Championship club after Ricco Diack was erroneously not permitted to feature as a late substitute in the 0-0 draw.
Though Partick won the penalty shootout and took two points from the fixture, one point was enough for Motherwell to top the group and progress to the next round. They have been drawn to host Premiership rivals Kilmarnock in the last 16.
Taking all three points with a win in 90 minutes would have taken Partick through.
And Thistle said in a statement on Monday evening: “We have written to the SPFL and Scottish FA today to request an explanation for this situation which has placed us at a sporting disadvantage and materially impacted the game by not allowing us to field an attacking player on to the field of play, a player who already has a proven track record of delivering positive attacking play and goals during their time on the pitch.”
As striker Diack, 19, waited at the touchline to come on, he was told he was not on the fourth official’s list of substitutes.
Manager Kris Doolan appealed for a return to paper team lists after the officials’ failure to properly use the SFA’s new online administration system, Comet.
“I am trying to put a striker on to try to win the game and get through,” Doolan told BBC Scotland in his post-match interview. “Ultimately it is worth money for the club if we go through.
“We challenged it after the game and he is on the team lines. But it is all done online now. The referees have a screenshot of eight names out of nine… and his name is on the second page.
“Why don’t we just go back to a bit of paper on the touchline? You can’t have things like that happening when the season kicks off.”
And the club said in their statement: “It has become clear to us that the processes being followed by match officials for the submission of team lines through the new system are insufficient.
“We understand that a number of the match officials refereeing our fixtures so far this season will be using the system for the first time, but there needs to be a system of accountability to ensure fairness and transparency for all clubs.”
Doolan instead fielded winger Logan Chalmers. Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell had wondered why Diack was not among the substitutes.
“I’ve seen a team line with his name on it, but it’s not in the place where the rest of the subs are,” he said.
“We know he is a promising young player. We know he is someone who can come on and add something to their front line.
“I can understand Kris’ frustration if it was down to something as simple as an admin error.”
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