It has been a controversial week-and-a-half in Cornish football as Falmouth Town were expelled from this season’s Cornwall Senior Cup for fielding an ineligible player in their quarter-final match against Saltash United.

For those of you that missed the Falmouth Packet’s back page last week the story goes like this: Falmouth Town sign Jamie Mudge from Bideford for the rest of the season on Wednesday, February 15; he comes on as a 74th minute substitute in their cup tie with Saltash on the following Saturday, with Town leading 3-0. However, as he has not played for the club in a recognised league or cup match; he is ineligible to play and on the Tuesday Falmouth are kicked out of the competition and Saltash are reinstated.

“For Saltash to be in the semi-final is an absolute joke,” fumed Falmouth Town boss Alan Carey. It is hard to disagree.

Saltash having been comprehensively beaten in the match have not really won their right to be in the last four. A statement their own manager, Stuart Dudley, seemed to agree with when he wrote on Cornwallfootballforum.com that he was ‘embarrassed’ by the situation.

In a reply to a post Carey had left, Dudley, wrote: “You are absolutely right, for a good proportion of the game you outplayed us and thoroughly deserved to go through. We actually had a really good spell, ironically, when Jamie came on.”

Perhaps Saltash are embarrassed by the situation because they know if they win the competition - and as second favourites there is a good chance of that - everyone will say, “they didn’t deserve to win that, they were beaten 3-0 by Falmouth in the quarter-final.”

So do Falmouth deserve to be in the last four? They clearly didn’t knowingly break the Cornwall County Football Association (CCFA) rules, because having been 3-0 up they are hardly likely to jeopardise a place in the last four in such a way. Having signed for Falmouth Town for the rest of the season as well, Mudge was not a ‘ringer’ either, which is what the rule is there to stop in the first place.

However, those arguments must be put to one side. They have broken a rule, which knowingly or unknowingly every other club as managed to abide by. Therefore if Falmouth Town were to win the competition - and there would have been a good chance of that as well - fans will say “they didn't deserve to” as well.

So with both sides still seemingly needing to earn their place in the last four, a replay would seem to be the common sense approach.

It could be staged, at Bodmin's Priory Park, on March 8, when and where the semi-final between Porthleven and Saltash is due to be played. The winners would then go onto to meet Port in the semi-final the Wednesday after. That still leaves plenty of time for the teams to be ready for the final of the competition on April 9.

Critics of this will of course say rules are rules and it clearly states that if you field an ineligible player the punishment is expulsion from the competition. But some rules are just stupid and as a result should be challenged. And before supporters start writing in saying talk of a replay is “pie in the sky” and “it will never happen”, I shall take you back to the European Champions Cup in the 1992.

It was round one of the competition. German champions VfB Stuggart had been handed a tough opening round match against English league winners Leeds United. Stuggart had won the first leg 3-0 in Germany, but in the second leg faced a rousing comeback from the Elland Road club as Gary Speed, Gary McAllister, Eric Cantona and Lee Chapman scored in a 4-1 win. It was to no avail though as Stuggart went through on the away goals rule. However, soon afterwards it transpired that, despite already having played three foreigners in the second leg, Stuttgart coach Christoph Daum had brought on the Serbian substitute Jovica Simanic with just eight minutes to go.

As a result he had unknowingly breached the three foreigner rule - does sound familiar?

Yes, well the next bit might not. Instead of putting Leeds straight into the next round, UEFA ordered that the game be settled by a replay in Barcelona. It was a verdict both Leeds and Stuggart were happy to accept. Now if the likes of UEFA and Michel Plantini are capable of using common sense, surely the CCFA are to?

What do you think? Should the tie be replayed? Leave your comments below or e-mail them to the captain at editorial@packetseries.co.uk