Mohamed Bettamer is a Libyan international and has played in the African Champions League
Having won their first two matches in Group A, Ellan Vannin (Isle of Man) are now out of the ConIFA Cup having lost their third game 2-0 to Barawa.
Mohamed Bettamer’s late addition to the Barawa squad has now had its biggest impact. He scored against Cascadia in a losing effort but yesterday, he scored a goal and an assist in their win over Ellan Vannin.
That result saw Barawa progress and the team from the Isle of Man eliminated on goal difference. The Manx side had won twice before, but the accumulation of fatigue and injury forced them to dig deep into their squad, and the cupboard seemingly wasn’t full enough.
There were no such problems for Barawa who added Bettamer to their squad sometime between their first game on May 31st, and in time to start their second on June 2. Every other team in the tournament supplied their final squad on May 15th, the deadline under the ConIFA rules. There is a provision for an injured player to be replaced, but there is no suggestion that this happened in the case of QPR youngster Kingsley Eshun who made way for Bettamer.
In his place, and long after the deadline came Bettamer, a Libyan international who has played in the CAF, the African Champions League for Sporting Benghazi. He is a classy player without doubt.
Bettamer warms up at Carshalton
ConIFA have admitted they signed off on the deal but they did not inform all the other squads that the rules had been changed. Ellan Vannin have abided by those rules and have paid for it.
Whether the Manx Independent Football Association (ManxIFA) that runs the Ellan Vannin team choose to appeal or not is obviously their call.
ConIFA rules seem to have no provision for punishment for fielding an ineligible player although FIFA rules award the innocent party a default 3-0 win. That would see Ellan Vannin qualify as top of the group.
Such a move would raise eyebrows but it would allow the ConIFA tournament to retain its integrity. If Barawa are allowed to profit from the flouting of rules and receive exemptions, a more embarrassing outcome might be that they win the entire tournament and cast a lasting shadow on the credibility and integrity, not only of the 2018 Cup, but the entire organisation.
