Sanctions for Knowingly Fielding Over-Age Player

[Unregistered]

I've read about an over-age kid playing for a number of years and leading their team to a SC title with at a minimum, the club coach knowingly looking the other way.

What is the penalty if this is proven? How do the various soccer organizations (MASC, Maple, MYS, USYS, USClub, Super Y, etc) typically deal with this type of transgression?

Should the coach, club, player or all three be penalized? How?

[Unregistered]

This is a really, really good question and needs an equally good, and reliable, answer. I don't think Bill Walker (head of Maple Disciplinary Committee I think?) posts here, but I wish he did. That's a post I would take seriously.

[Unregistered]

This is a really, really good question and needs an equally good, and reliable, answer. I don't think Bill Walker (head of Maple Disciplinary Committee I think?) posts here, but I wish he did. That's a post I would take seriously.

Its very simple, if the player led the team to a state cup title then that obvious title would be taken away. On top of that the seeding the next year would be void. At the end of the day the club would be punished the most which it should be if they knew of the violation

[Unregistered]

The penalty is probably the same as for recruiting violations.

[Unregistered]

Its very simple, if the player led the team to a state cup title then that obvious title would be taken away. On top of that the seeding the next year would be void. At the end of the day the club would be punished the most which it should be if they knew of the violation

If none of this has happened, can we assume that the NSU case we have seen so much posted about on this forum is still just a rumor?

[Unregistered]

If none of this has happened, can we assume that the NSU case we have seen so much posted about on this forum is still just a rumor?

Or that MAPLE and MYSA are totally inept.

[Unregistered]

Its very simple, if the player led the team to a state cup title then that obvious title would be taken away. On top of that the seeding the next year would be void. At the end of the day the club would be punished the most which it should be if they knew of the violation

Doesnt matter if the club knew or not. The coach is representing the club and thats enough.

[Unregistered]

The key word is knowingly played an overage player. I thhink that would be hard to prove. Below is an article about several overage players fielded by a winning high school in Florida. It was one of the most agregious of over age players that I have ever heard.



Immokalee HS soccer coach Frantz Matheus is not returning as the Indians' head coach

The longtime Immokalee soccer coach will avoid facing sanctions for having five over-age players


Immokalee soccer coach Frantz Matheus will not have to face the consequences. He will not have to endure the sanctions for using five over-aged athletes. He will not have to suffer through the two-year probation the team received from the Florida High School Athletic Association early this summer.


Matheus is not returning as the Indians' head coach. He is not returning to Immokalee at all.


With Collier County schools set to open in less than a week, Matheus is not on the high school's teaching roster, according to school district spokesman Joe Landon. Matheus' name is still listed as a member of the faculty on Immokalee High's Web site. Landon said he's not a current employee of the school district and hasn't been since June 2.


The story was first reported on naplesnews.com and BonitaNews.com.


The over-age soccer players were discovered on May 11, and the FHSAA handed down penalties on June 7, five days after Matheus was no longer a school district employee.


Matheus resigned on June 2 because of issues raised by the Florida Department of Education concerning his certification, Landon said. Immokalee's athletic office said that Matheus' successor had not been named. The Indians have some time. Soccer practice doesn't start until Oct. 16 and the first game isn't until Nov. 7.


Matheus, 45, had worked at Immokalee High School since 1992. The Haitian native, who is fluent in English, French and Creole, started out as a tutor. He worked in that capacity until 2003. He became a full-time teacher after attending Florida Gulf Coast University.


That same year, Matheus also regained his title as the head soccer coach. He had been the head coach in the late 1990s. His return to the top spot marked the beginning of Immokalee's troubles, which were masqueraded by success.


With Matheus at the helm from 2003-2006, the Indians became a soccer power. He guided the team to three district championships, coming home with two titles. Last season, the Indians and Matheus enjoyed their best season ever ? posting a 25-2 record and coming within one penalty shot of advancing to the state semifinals.


But Immokalee had to relinquish all the titles and accolades after it was discovered that five athletes were over the FHSAA's imposed age limit of 19 years and 9 months old. Blandel Jean, a three-year veteran of the team, admitted to being 30 years old. Others too old included Josh Jean-Mary, 23, Clotaire Joseph, 21, Sinel Ulysse, 20, and Fredo Selbonne, 20. All of the players in question were on the team for all or part of the last three seasons. Four of them are of Haitian decent.


Joseph scored 35 goals and tallied 19 assists last season for the Indians. He also was tapped as the Naples Daily News Soccer Player of the Year. The award has since been stripped and the plaque was later returned to the newspaper.


Immokalee High also received a $3,000 fine for the original three athletes discovered to be over-aged plus a two-year probation for soccer. The football team received a one-year probation and is ineligible for the playoffs this year because Jean played in four games in 2005 as a kicker.


No one answered at Matheus' last known phone number on Tuesday.


A recent review of Matheus' personnel file revealed only positive work reviews and no reprimands. The school district didn't supply the Naples Daily News with anything that had been placed in Matheus' file in the past 12 months, which are exempt from public review.


The Indians will be naming two new soccer coaches. In the aftermath of the probe, Manny Touron retained his title as Immokalee's principal, despite strong public criticism. But Touron isn't returning to his duties as volunteer assistant coach this season. He had worked with the soccer team for 13 years since coming to Collier County from New York.


Touron has until Friday to submit a plan to the school district to safeguard that over-age athletes are not participating in sports at Immokalee. Eric Williams, the assistant school superintendent, ordered Touron to investigate and decide if any of the Immokalee High staff should be subject to disciplinary actions or if their annual review should reflect that they violated FHSAA rules. Touron said recently that he didn't believe that Matheus had any knowledge of or contributed to the over-aged athletes participating on the soccer team.


Touron and Linda Ayer, Immokalee's athletic director, couldn't be reached for comment on Tuesday.


Matheus isn't the only prominent figure of the soccer team who is missing in action. Moise Saintil, the star of the 2004 football state championship team and a standout on the soccer field, is not returning to the school, according to head football coach John Weber.


Saintil was only one credit shy from graduating but would have been ineligible because of age for the upcoming soccer season, Weber said. Saintil would have been eligible to play football.

[Unregistered]

Another anti-NEFC post. How original. Listen we operate within the same rules as you chumps. we just know how to get around a few things here and there. we're untouchable baby! you can cry all you want but this is reality. deal with it Maple babies.

[Unregistered]

There is no way anyone associated with NEFC would ever make this post or many of the similar obnoxious or over the top statements I have seen on this forum. Give it a rest already.

[Unregistered]

There is no way anyone associated with NEFC would ever make this post or many of the similar obnoxious or over the top statements I have seen on this forum. Give it a rest already.

A number of people pretending to be who they aren't here, although if they represent as themselves it would probably be pretty vile as well.

[Unregistered]

The original poster had some good questions which remain unanswered. How do the various soccer organizations deal with knowingly fielding an overage player? Anyone know?

[Unregistered]

Another anti-NEFC post. How original. Listen we operate within the same rules as you chumps. we just know how to get around a few things here and there. we're untouchable baby! you can cry all you want but this is reality. deal with it Maple babies.

I posted the post about Immokolee high school. (Fl) I saw the title of this thread, and will always remember that team when the issue of overage is raised. The fact that one of the players was 31, was ridiculous. My son actually played their soccer team in the state high school regionals. I did not attend but I asked my son when he came home, (he was 16), and he said that they lost, and the other team was enormous. The next year this story came out.

[Unregistered]

Put the kid in charge of driving all the carpools.

[Unregistered]

NEFC has no shame.