Blunderland: Ineligible Ji played in FIVE games... but Premier League strugglers are fined and dodge point deduction



Ji Dong-won played in four league games without international clearance



Club secretary Liz Coley left club after the administrative error

Mistake was not spotted until defeat by Man United on October 5, 2013

Also played in Capital One Cup victory over MK Dons while ineligible

Sunderland confessed to Premier League and received fine in October

They were also fined by the Football League



The games he played

Premier League

Aug 17, 2013: Sunderland 0-1 Fulham

Aug 24, 2013: Southampton 1-1 Sunderland

Aug 31, 2013: Crystal Palace 3-1 Sunderland

Oct 5, 2013: Sunderland 1-2 Man United

Capital One Cup

Aug 27, 2013: Sunderland 4-2 MK Dons

If Gus Poyet thought life was tough at the bottom of the Barclays Premier League, it got a whole lot worse when it emerged that Sunderland fielded Ji Dong-won in four top-flight matches when he was ineligible.



Club secretary Liz Coley departed abruptly after the administrative error left Sunderland facing a Premier League investigation for breaching rules B14.5 and U11.

In action: Ji Dong-Won (centre) while with Sunderland in a game against Fulham in August 2013

The League have fined the club substantially but not deducted points despite an FA statute saying they should have been docked or made to replay their game against Southampton in August, when Ji helped them win a point.

Sunderland were also fined by the Football League after striker Ji played in a 4-2 victory over MK Dons in the Capital One Cup when he wasn’t eligible to play.



MK Dons are understood to be furious that Sunderland were not thrown out of the competition once the error was spotted.



They went on to lose in the final against Manchester City.



The 22-year-old South Korea striker, who joined Sunderland in 2011, was sent out on loan to German club Augsburg last season.

Game over: Ji rounds Manchester City's Joe Hart to score the winner back in 2012

Bright future: Ji, 22, has impressed while in Germany with Augsburg

WHAT THE AUTHORITIES SAY

The Premier League Handbook 2013/14... Relationship between Clubs and the League B.14.5. the statutes and regulations of FIFA. International registration transfer certificates U.11. An application to register a player who last played for a club affiliated to a national association other than the Football Association shall be accompanied by written confirmation from the Football Association that an international registration transfer certificate has been issued in respect of the player According to the Football Association's Standardised Rules 2013/14: 6.9 Playing an ineligible player Any club found to have played an ineligible player in a match shall have any points gained from that match deducted from its record and have levied upon it a fine.

The company may vary this decision in respect of the points gained only in circumstances where the ineligibility is due to the failure to obtain an International Transfer Certificate or where the ineligibility is related to the player’s status only. The board may also order that such match be replayed on such terms as are decided by the board which may also levy penalty points against the club in default.



When he returned, Sunderland had to wait for international clearance before he could play for them but they never got it.

Instead former manager Paolo Di Canio selected him for the four fixtures and the mistake was not spotted until they had lost 2-1 at home to Manchester United on October 5.

Sunderland immediately confessed and were discreetly fined by the Premier League board in December.



Premier League rule B14.5 obliges its member clubs to abide by the statutes and regulations of FIFA, and in this case Sunderland failed to comply with the European body’s transfer regulations.



Furthermore, rule U11 states: ‘An application to register a player who last played for a club affiliated to a national association other than the Football Association shall be accompanied by written confirmation from the Football Association that an international registration transfer certificate has been issued in respect of the player.’



Sunderland did not have the written confirmation from the German FA that the player’s international clearance had been received.



FA rules say clubs found to have fielded an ineligible player shall be fined and have points gained from that match deducted, though a deduction way be waived in certain circumstances.



If Sunderland are relegated, their players will have to take a 40 per cent pay cut.



Outbound: Ji was a Sunderland player between June 2011 and January 2014



Scandal: Club secretary Liz Coley (left) has left Sunderland in the wake of the furore surrounding Ji (pictured with Augsburg)



Vital: Emanuele Giaccherini scored early for Sunderland to grab a point against Southampton in August

The stipulation is understood to be standard across playing contracts at the Stadium of Light to help the club deal with the financial repercussions of going down.



However, given the size of the wage decrease, Sunderland’s most sought after stars are likely to angle for moves away if they drop into the Championship.