Double Whammy!

By: Stephen Bateman
Date: 28/11/2000

The cash-strapped Mariners are facing up to a £5,000 fine today after having had Paul Groves dismissed and a further six players booked against Sheffield United earlier this month. Under new FA guidelines, any team that receives six or more bookings in one match are liable to be penalised.

Prior to the match against United, the Mariners had been perched atop the Football League's Fair Play League. Striker Steve Livingstone has also landed himself in hot water with the FA after being charged with bringing the game into disrepute. It is alleged that Livingstone made inappropriate comments to the referee after the match at Bramall Lane. Mariners boss Lennie Lawrence is under no illusions as to the nature of the offence as he commented "Once you are charged with bringing the game into disrepute, you are never innocent. It is only a matter of the degree of the punishment. "We will look at the facts ourselves and decide if there should be any internal disciplinary measures. Whatever we decide, we will be asking for a personal hearing and we will be representing and defending Steve at the tribunal." Lawrence went on to add: "We felt that the referee handled the match poorly and considering our previous record, it was totally out of character for us to get that many bookings and a sending off in the same game."

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