Queen's Park braced for cup woe

Queen's Park will be unable to defend the Amateur Cup

Third Division club Queen's Park will be denied the chance to defend the Scottish Amateur Cup because of their league status.

The Spiders beat Hurlford Thistle 3-1 at Hampden in May, but the rules on who can compete have since been tightened.

A recent Scottish Amateur Football Association change means only amateur league sides will participate.

Spiders president Jim Hastie said: "I will contact the SAFA as it hurts both our club and their competition."

Queen's Park dropped out of the competition in the 1960's and re-entered the cup eight seasons ago.

They were granted an exemption from playing in an amateur league as a mark of respect to their history and status in the amateur game.

But the recent SAFA annual meeting voted in favour of an automated registration system, which only allows teams that play in Saturday amateur leagues into the competition.

We remain an amateur club playing in a professional league and are therefore probably best described as an anomaly Queen's Park president Jim Hastie

As a result, the Hampden outfit are excluded because they belong to the Scottish Football League.

SAFA president Angus McKay said it was obliged to fall into line with an SFA requirement to have all amateur players registered on a national registration system.

"Our volunteers will collect this information and populate the database from affiliated clubs as the record of amateur players in Scotland," he said.

"As Queen's Park players are registered to the Scottish Football League, and do not play in an amateur Saturday league, they therefore will not appear on the database. As it stands just now, they cannot be allowed to enter."

Hastie said his club, who suffered relegation to Division Three last season, were keen to defend the cup next season.

"We remain an amateur club playing in a professional league and are therefore probably best described as an anomaly," he added.

"We have played a combination of under-19 players and fringe first-team players in a side called The Hampden XI in this competition and I am determined to find a solution with the SAFA that will allow this to happen.

"We have been extended the courtesy of being able to enter the competition in the past despite not playing in an amateur league and hope that we will be able to enter it again."