QPR decision took too long, says ex-FA chief
FORMER Football Association chief executive Mark Palios has criticised the delay surrounding Queen’s Park Rangers’ trial over the signing of Alejandro Faurlin.
QPR were fined £875,000 by the FA for breaking transfer rules but crucially escaped a points penalty, meaning their automatic promotion as Championship winners was not affected.
But the verdict was only delivered on Saturday morning, hours before Rangers’ were due to receive the trophy, despite the rule breaches first being identified last year and charges being brought in March.
“If the reason for the delay is simply trying to fit diaries together then maybe you put in a regulation that says the real overriding benefit is to get this result quickly,” said Palios.
“You may say: ‘Should there be a better gating process as to whether you take it to a tribunal because there’s been a lot of angst for the QPR fans and the players. Was there a point you could have said you don’t take the charges? That’s the sort of thing they should look at in terms of the process to improve the timing.”
The FA’s independent tribunal found QPR guilty of two of seven charges after a three-day hearing last week, but the process has been criticised because the effect on the promotion battle any points penalty would have had was already known by the time the decision was made.