The Overturned Final: Could The Oversight Have Been Prevented?
| "Fourth Official" making substitution during a match (as credited) |
The aforementioned match was won 2-0 by LCS after extra time, with goals from Hami Syahin and Anderson Lopes. However, the result was subsequently overturned after it was confirmed the Stags had committed the following breaches:
A COSTLY SUBSTITUTION
• Breach of Article 19.2 (Minimum Local Player Requirement): The club failed to maintain the mandatory minimum of four Singaporean players on the pitch at all times. This occurred in the 81st minute of the match when Joel Chew (a Singaporean player) was substituted for Yuki Kobayashi (a Japanese national), leaving the team with only three Singaporean players on the field.• Breach of Article 4.2.4 (General Regulations): By failing to meet the player quota specified in Article 19.2, the club was also found to be in violation of Article 4.2.4 of the Singapore Cup 2025/26 Regulations.
• As a consequence of these abovementioned breaches, Article 4.3 was triggered, resulting in the match being declared a 3-0 loss for BG Tampines Rovers by forfeit.
INSIDE THE OFFICIALS’ OVERSIGHT
"The standard procedure is to cross-reference the list and track exactly how many substitutions have been made for both local and foreign players," said the former MC, who spoke under the condition of anonymity.In his opinion, the MC on duty should have already spotted that something was amiss from the moment the team reserves started warming up on the sidelines and putting on their jerseys to get ready to enter the field.
THE CRUCIAL "WARM-UP" WINDOW
"This is the crucial window where the MC checks the team sheet; he should know immediately if the substitution quota has been reached," he explained.He added: "Even if the MC is seated away from the Fourth Official, both of them must maintain a clear view of the pitch.
"(The Fourth Official) should have double-checked the team sheet. It appears he overlooked the details, perhaps taking the situation for granted rather than verifying the facts," concluded the former MC.