Jamaica Premier League outfit Chapelton Maorons have been punished for failing to turn up for their fixture with Mount Pleasant Academy at the Effortville Community Centre on Sunday.

The Maroons, who fired experienced head coach Lenworth Hyde last week, were unable to field an 11 due to many players being unavailable.

Notably, the Maroons squad is made up mostly of schoolboys and the JPL has a rule that does not allow a team to field more than five amateurs to a team per match.

Before his dismissal, Hyde noted that this rule will put the team in a tough situation, especially since if the players sign professional contracts, they will be ineligible for overseas scholarship opportunities.

Match Commissioner Anthony Gibbs said he had not gotten any correspondence from Chapelton nor the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) for the absence of the Clarendon-based team.

The JFF announced the sanctions in a release on Monday:

“The Competitions Committee of the JFF has handed down sanctions to Chapelton Maroons who failed to turn up for their JPL fixture versus Mount Pleasant FC at the Effortville Community Center on Sunday, January 22.

1. For breach of Article 7.5 and 6, the game has been awarded to Mount Pleasant FA by a score of three goals to nil (3-0). Chapelton Maroons FC has also been fined Two hundred Thousand Dollars ($200,000). This payment must be made on or before Friday, February 3, 2023.

1. In keeping with the regulations, a further six (6) points has been deducted from the club’s current points standing.  The club must also compensate for any damages or losses suffered by Mount Pleasant FA and the JFF up to a maximum of One Hundred & Fifty Thousand Dollars ($150,000). Invoices will be provided as soon as they are available.

1. Finally, the club will be referred to the JFF Disciplinary Committee for further actions to be taken in accordance with Article 70 of the JFF Disciplinary Code.”

The Maroons are currently twelfth in the 14-team JPL table with eight points from 10 games.