The new Comet system was intended to modernise and improve the player registration process in Scotland, but there have been various teething problems since its introduction.
On the one hand, officials at various clubs throughout the football pyramid have raised concerns over the lack of support and training they have received in navigating the new system, while the Scottish FA contend that not only are they and the operators of Comet in daily contact with clubs at all levels, but that they also provided a comprehensive program of webinars and in-person training in preparation for its release.
Now, huge points deductions and fines that have been handed out to clubs in the junior ranks for errors in player registration have sparked a row over who is to blame for these mistakes, with the affected clubs pointing fingers at the Comet system and warning that there will be more punishments to come.
Here, by speaking to those involved and stakeholders throughout the game, Herald Sport tries to get to the bottom of what is really going on.
Firstly, what is the Comet system?
Comet is a computerised platform for registering players that is used in multiple countries all over the world. It was introduced by the SFA for the registration of players here in the summer, but its roll-out has attracted complaints from some clubs throughout the football pyramid.
The SFA held webinars to train clubs on how to use the new system, but many have still struggled to register their players correctly, and various individuals have hit out at the governing body for a lack of support and accused them of failing to return emails and calls when they have attempted to get help.
On top of this, they claim that the sheer volume of players that had to be registered on the system, from grassroots to the top level of the game, meant that the SFA struggled to process registrations in time for the start of the football season.
What have the consequences been?
Coaches in youth football have been raising concerns about the Comet system from the offset, but the issues with the new platform came to wider prominence when Partick Thistle raised a complaint following a League Cup group stage tie against Motherwell at Fir Park, a game that was televised on Premier Sports.
Towards the end of the match, with the score tied at 0-0 and Thistle needing to win to progress to the next round at Motherwell’s expense, Jags manager Kris Doolan wanted to send young striker Ricco Diack into the action as his side chased a late winner.
However, he was prevented from doing so as the match officials believed Diack had not been registered for the match. In fact, Diack had been registered, but an SFA official had cut his name off the bottom of the teamline when he took a screenshot of the Thistle squad for the match, and so the officials did not allow him to enter the field.
Read more:
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Partick Thistle blast Comet procedures and demand SFA and SPFL answers
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Motherwell boss 'sympathises' with Partick Thistle following costly team lines error
The Firhill side requested a replay, but the SPFL – who are responsible for the running of the tournament – rejected their case (while issuing an apology), explaining that they do not award replays on the grounds of ‘human error by a match official’.
Further down the chain, there have been tales of coaches and players giving up on youth football because of the red tape now involved in registering to play, while there have been recent controversies in the junior game.
What is happening in the Juniors then?
East of Scotland League Premier Division side Sauchie Juniors and West of Scotland Premier League side Gartcairn have both been hit with 15-point deductions after they had been ruled to have fielded ineligible players, but both clubs insist the fault lies with the Comet system and the lack of support from the SFA in its implementation.
In the case of Gartcairn, they were hit with the sanction after it was discovered that summer signing, Robert Thomson, had been incorrectly registered – and played in eight matches - as a trialist. As the maximum number of games a trialist can play is three, they were deducted points for every match thereafter that Thomson had played in.
But Gartcairn director Craig Armstrong told Herald Sport that requests for help in ensuring their players were registered correctly went unanswered, and that the only reason the issue was uncovered was because he himself informed the league after he noticed the mistake.
Armstrong believes that at least 100 such errors have been made throughout the junior ranks this season, while a league statement last week contended that there had only been three mistakes uncovered.
The reason for that, Armstrong says, is simply because nobody is checking, and if a complaint isn’t raised or the teams themselves don’t flag up an issue, such errors will remain undiscovered.
Therefore, the current league constitution, with its zero-tolerance approach to errors in player registration, is, in his view, no longer fit for purpose.
“I am not against the Comet system, and I think it could be a good thing in the long run,” Armstrong said.
“But the way that it has been rolled out and the lack of support given to clubs during the transition hasn’t been good enough.
“We have ended up being hit with an extremely harsh sanction, in my opinion. We would gain no advantage whatsoever by listing the player as a trialist. He’s our player, we had it all over our socials when he signed, so we’re not trying to pull a fast one or gain any unfair advantage.”
Armstrong is also managing director of Indigo Unified Communications, a long-time financial supporter of the West of Scotland Football League, but his company have pulled all sponsorship on the back of the decision to sanction Gartcairn and other clubs.
Instead, that money will now be allocated to clubs to pay any fines they accrue (Gartcairn, for example, were also fined £500) from registration errors.
“I know there were people on social media saying it is sour grapes or me throwing my toys out of the pram over this,” Armstrong added.
“But we as a company – when our whole ethos is about user support - simply cannot stand by and be associated with a situation like this where the users are not being adequately supported.
“Many of these clubs are run by volunteers, and I know for a fact that many of those volunteers and even the players themselves are having their mental health affected by this. People are even walking away from the game and being lost to football.
“These volunteers are being expected to register players on a brand-new system with little to no support.
“And this is just the tip of the iceberg. I believe there have been over 100 teamline ‘errors’ so far this season, so goodness knows how many other clubs are going to end up getting punished.”
Sauchie, for their part, threw their support behind Gartcairn and Indigo for their stance, agreeing with Armstrong in a statement that many more clubs will soon be in the firing line.
The statement read: “We at Sauchie Juniors knew that when we received our 15-point deduction due to ongoing Comet issues, that this was just the start and certainly not the end by any means.
“Subsequently, there has been several teams now deducted points because of similar incidents, more so in the West of Scotland Football League.
“We are wholeheartedly in agreement with the…statement that was released from the sponsor.
“Just the start, certainly not the end.”
What have the leagues and the SFA said?
The West of Scotland Football League have refuted the claims by Gartcairn and Armstrong that the penalty applied to the club was unfair, and claim the evidence showed that the player in question had in fact not been registered on the Comet system.
Gartcairn did appeal the penalty to the SFA, but having had that appeal thrown out on the evidence provided, the league has now said they consider the matter closed.
Furthermore, a statement released following the withdrawal of Indigo’s sponsorship denied that there had been inadequate training for member clubs in how to use Comet and cast doubt that the issues are anywhere near as widespread as is being claimed.
Their statement read: "Following the introduction of Comet, the West of Scotland Football League organised a Comet training session for member clubs at Hampden Park. This was over and above any training provided by the Scottish FA.
"Members of the Scottish FA’s Comet team were present at this session and praised it’s content, accuracy and delivery of the session. The board members who delivered that training have also supported a number of clubs with queries regarding Comet.
"It is also stated by Gartcairn FC in their statement that there have been 'over 100 ineligible player teamline incidents...to which clubs have been fined and removed from competitions...due to clubs and league committees not understanding Comet'.
"Whilst we are unaware of the situation regarding other Leagues and competitions in Scotland, of the 80 member clubs in the West of Scotland Football League, there have been three investigations at clubs regarding player ineligibility due to possible player registration offences, including Gartcairn, and no other cases are currently in the pipeline.”
During the investigation by the league’s discipline secretary, it was determined that the player registration form presented as evidence by Gartcairn that they had attempted to register Thomson was not in fact generated by Comet, and the league ‘therefore reached the determination that the player had not been registered by Gartcairn FC and imposed the appropriate sanction as stipulated in the League’s constitution.’
When coming under fire at the start of the season, an SFA spokesman defended the roll-out of the technology, saying: “Like all technological improvements, there will be a need for users to familiarise themselves with the system.
“This is why we committed to extensive training and online tutorials at all levels of the game. Comet is the established industry standard software and app-based technology embraced by leagues and national associations across European and world football.
“We expressly conveyed to leagues and affiliated national associations that during the bedding-in period we would be flexible with a hybrid system of new technology and manual approach to ensure there would be no impediment to matches going ahead as normal.
"This system remains in place. We reiterate that if any league opted not to play matches, this is a decision made by that league or organisation and not due to the technology upgrade.”
What now?
The clubs who have been punished will have to take their medicine, with their routes of appeal exhausted.
Time will tell if further sanctions will be meted out to clubs who have fielded ineligible players, and whether this bears out the theory that Comet is itself still an issue for administrators and secretaries, or whether those initial teething problems have now been ironed out.
