i was if u could clear up something for us , we let a player go jus after the season started he went a away and signed for another club, the other club plays in a different league. He then left that team and asked if we would re sign him but we were advised by a former league offical that we could not resign him. is this the case? thanks aldo

aldo30

You can't sign anyone (except a keeper for emergency cover) after 31 March each season.

Wilson

yeah i know , it was just a general query thanks for the reply
aldo

If before the 31st March no problem in rejoining a team you had previously been signed with and no limit to number of teams you can sign with in a season .Obviously just one a time though .

nice 1 thanks for clearin that up.

aldo

aldo

It seems my answer is wrong, it certainly is the case in the CSAFL but may not be in other associations.

Wilson

My understanding is that anyone can sign any player at any time, but after march 31st as long as they haven't played in that league association - they can still b signed.

I.e I have only played safl this season so I could sign for a team in the central right now.

How it works for a player who is returning to the same team as previous then I'm not 100% sure

Not quite Dougie.....some Leagues such as Ayrshire have a 31st March deadline after which players cannot be released or registered (except a goalkeeper). The Central Scottish does not have the same deadline so provided you were released by an SAFL club by 31st March you could presumably sign for a Central club.

All Leagues are covered by the SAFA rule which prevents any player released after 31st March by an SAFA club then registering for another SAFA club regardless of which Leagues are involved. The SAFL has an additional local rule which says that after 31st March a player can only be registered if he was not previously registered that season. The SAFL rule does not appear to allow the registration of ANY player (except a keeper) after 31st March if the player has been registered with any SAFA League during the season.

The registration rules, with the local variations, are a bit of a nightmare. The best advice, particularly after 31st March, is to check it out with the League concerned. It seems for example that to take just three leagues, the SAFL, the Central Scottish and Ayrshire, different rules apply in each one on how the post 31st March situation is dealt with.

thanks for the posts ,the lanankshire league has more gray areas than my grandas head so iam glad we jus left it .

This is not a local league issue, according to SAFA rules cancellation of registrations will not be allowed after 31st March however players who are not currently registered can be signed as this does not involve the cancelling of a registration this is for any position in the team not just a goalie. For a GOALKEEPERyou can still change a registration but he can only play in goal, hope this explains to your satisfaction

Sorry cockneybill but you are wrong on this. Many leagues have local variations from the SAFA basic rule. And these variations have been approved by the SAFA. In our League (Ayrshire) you cannot sign a player after 31st Match (except a goalkeeper). Its as simple as that!

fair enough Morris, but my understanding is that safa rules overide local rules if you have special dispensation from them on this matter then my previous post still stands good for every one else .dont you think

having thought a little more on this subject i agree that there may well be variations in this rule how ever in the event of a dispute by a member club being taken to hampden then the national rules would apply which is what i based my first observation on

EVERY league should be playing to the same rules. It's yet another SAFA football disaster area.

Should listen to Mr. Tonner he's the man in the know

I don't claim to be "the man in the know" smp1 but I will do what I can to explain it as it is!

The SAFA Rules certainly set out the Registration Rules which should be adopted by affiliated Leagues and Associations. However, before the National Registration system came in there were various rules in operation in all the different Leagues and Associations. It was agreed that affiliated Leagues and Associations could adopt variations from the National Rules PROVIDED those variations were passed by their members clubs and then approved by the SAFA. By and large these variations concern the March 31st deadline situation and the use of trialists. It would have been neat and tidy if there were no variations but rightly or wrongly that has not happened so far.

So, if you are playing in, for example, the Central Scottish you are covered by the Registration Rules set out in the Central Scottish Rulebook. If you are playing in the Ayrshire AFA you are covered by Ayrshire's Rulebook. Etc., etc.

In the event of a dispute by a member club going to Hampden, as cockneybill puts it, presumably he means to an Appeals hearing, the Appeals Committee would have to adjudicate on whether the League or Association had applied its own LOCAL Rules not the SAFA rule. And the reason for this would be that the local rules had been approved by the SAFA. Once that approval has been given the SAFA can't then say that it will disregard the local rule it has already approved. That would be daft.

I am not saying that all of this is perfect but it's what happens when you are trying to introduce a common system across a large number of local Leagues and Associations. If you wanted to impose the exact same rules on everybody the SAFA AGM could do so but you would in effect have to persuade a lot of people to give up their local variations and that's easier said than done!

i almost agree Morris except ,how could the appeals committee uphold a ruling which contrdicts one of their own rules .Allright if the situation is not covered within their rules there would be room for doubt and a decision may be made but this situation is covered, so SAFA rules must surely take precedence,as a rule that contradicts the governing body cannot be supported by that body.now that would be daft!

We're just going round in circles on this, cockneybill. We will have to agree to disagree.

Never mind Morris, you tried. Patience and diplomacy are two of your more obvious features.

'A blind man running for a bus' could see what you were saying.

thats right Morris all i am really saying is that it needs sorted at NATIONAL level

Absolutely right on that Morris - cant see where there is any doubt .
Any local rule which differs from SAFA rules and has been approved by SAFA for use by that league/Assn is the binding rule for members of that league/Assn.
No local rule in place or local rule NOT APPROVED by SAFA then Appeals Committee must apply SAFA rules .
Seems straightforward to me .