Tuesday’s Northern Ireland Football League promotion-relegation play-off second leg between Ballinamallard United and Institute has been postponed after already-relegated Warrenpoint Town flagged a number of eligibility issues that could potentially lead to the restoration of their top-flight status.
The NIFL took the decision to postpone the play-off, which the Mallards lead 2-1 after the first leg at the Riverside Stadium, after Warrenpoint Town asked league officials to check if Carrick Rangers manager Gary Haveron had correctly served a three-match suspension.
While there is no suggestion that Haveron didn’t serve the ban, it has been claimed that the Carrick boss was involved in the club’s 3-1 win over Dungannon Swifts in late April - a match he should have missed - and sat out another match for which he was entitled to be in the dugout.
Irish FA laws state that punishment for failing to serve a ban is a minimum fine of £350 and the forfeiting of the match on a 3-0 scoreline.
Such an outcome would automatically relegate Carrick as the bottom club in the league and result in Warrenpoint contesting the play-off instead of Ballinamallard.
