Reprieve for six Elgin City Football Club players facing gambling charges as this week's Scottish FA disciplinary hearing is postponed
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A SCOTTISH FA hearing investigating gambling allegations levelled at six Elgin City footballers has been postponed.
The Borough Briggs club was rocked last month when current players Tom McHale, Darryl McHardy, Matthew Cooper, Conor O'Keefe, Aiden Sopel and Rabin Omar were served with notices of complaint by the SFA.
All six, along with former City players James McGowan, Ashley Ballam and Shane Sutherland, were among 14 SPFL footballers cited by the SFA for alleged breaches of gambling laws.
The hearing was due to take place on Friday, with Omar's case being heard the following week on February 18 but both dates have now been shelved.
Elgin City chairman Graham Tatters confirmed the postponement of both hearings and said he expects them to be rescheduled in the summer.
It is understood that each case won't be heard until after a current court case involving Elgin City striker Kane Hester - also in relation to gambling allegations - reaches a conclusion.
"The hearings have all been postponed," Tatters said.
"It is associated with another court case that is going on so they don’t want to influence the outcome of that case. So they have cancelled the hearings until after that case is complete."
As a result, it is likely that all six Elgin City players will be free to play in all matches over the remainder of the current SPFL campaign.
"I would assume that all the players involved would be available to play for the rest of the season because I don’t think we will hear anything on that court case before June or July," Tatters said.
"But no dates have been confirmed yet so we don't know."
The vast majority of the Elgin City alleged breaches relate to Rule 31 of the SFA's Disciplinary Rules, which states: "No club official, team official or other member of team staff, player, match official or other person under the jurisdiction of the Scottish FA shall gamble in any way on a football match."
Cooper is alleged to have broken this rule across seven seasons between 2012 and 2019, with McHardy said to have broken the same rule across five campaigns between 2014 and 2019.
Omar, McHale and Sopel are all alleged to have broken the same rule across one or two seasons.
The allegation levelled against winger O'Keefe relates to Rule 33, in season 2013/14. It states: "No club, official, team official or other member of team staff, player, match official or other person under the jurisdiction of the Scottish FA shall directly or indirectly offer or receive a bonus or any other inducement to or from another club, official, player, match official or any other person to influence the result of a match or otherwise affect the conduct of a match."
