It is an evil wind that shakes the chain-link fence of Gartcairn Park and chills the brave souls gathered in desperate solidarity.

It is difficult to guess what good this may bring rather than highlighting this particular unity that semi-professional football not only espouses but lives by.

It’s game day in Airdrie. The game against Glenafton would once have been seen as a chance for Gartcairn to continue to rise to the top of the West of Scotland Football League Premier Division.

But during Storm Darragh on Saturday, that aspiration was swept away. Gartcairn are now – suddenly but undeniably – in a relegation fight.

As volunteers rush from cargo containers to the field, pies are heated and balls are collected, there is talk of points deducted, loan records and what happens next in a row that has scrambled the league, affected sponsors and caused consternation within the club. .

At issue is the registration of Robert Thomson, the striker who was signed from East Kilbride this season and played as a trialist for eight matches.

Gartcairn’s defeat to Glenafton played out amid bitter dispute over recording rules

He went about his business with commendable effort on Saturday. His impact, however, caused more turbulence off the field.

Gartcairn announced last week that the club had been deducted 15 points and fined £500 for playing against an ineligible player, Thomson, to whom no blame was attached.

The West of Scotland Football League ruled that under its protocols he was only allowed to play three matches as a trial judge. Gartcairn insists he was recorded properly and his evidence considered.

A league committee decided that no proper registration forms had been submitted. A WoSFL statement last week said an investigation showed the player was therefore not registered and that this was not due to any fault in the system. This is a reference to the Comet registration system, introduced this year in the Scottish leagues.

It must be said that the Comet system is good. Gartcairn’s claim, however, is that they provided information, although the league’s investigation ruled otherwise.

“We think we did everything right and we were treated unfairly,” says club secretary Craig Armstrong. “We also believe that the Comet system is a good system and that over time it will work.”

An exchange of public statements between the club and the league revealed the extent of the conflict. Armstrong is chief executive of Indigo Communications, a league sponsor. He immediately withdrew this sponsorship.

“It’s worth about £10,000,” he said. “I hadn’t paid this year’s money yet, but I thought it wasn’t appropriate to do so.

“What I will do is put this money aside and if other clubs have problems and incur fines, this money could help them.” A fine of a few hundred pounds could spell disaster for some clubs.

Greenversity, another company he is involved in, will, however, continue to sponsor the league.

Permission to appeal the WoSFL decision to the SFA was refused following a review of the case.

So that’s the problem. There is no way for the club to challenge it further and the WoSFL statement says it is simply enforcing the sanction required by its rules. This statement ended with WoSFL saying no further comment would be made. A spokesperson confirmed last night that the league considers the matter closed.

Gartcairn accused of fielding striker Robert Thomson when he was ineligible to play

Gartcairn says many other clubs have problems. The WoSFL said in its statement that “there have been three investigations into clubs regarding the ineligibility of players due to possible player registration breaches, including at Gartcairn, and no others are in progress.” course”.

Gartcairn, however, is understood to have surveyed other clubs in the league and the results could be released this week.

There was a feeling, in subzero Airdrie, that many people in the ground were nursing their anger to keep it warm.

One supporter, bundled up in the cold and refusing to give his name, said: “I think the sanction does not correspond to what was, at worst, an administrative error. I mean, we barely put Thomson under the radar. We posted a signing announcement on social media, so it wasn’t a secret.

The club also claims to have alerted the authorities of a possible problem relating to the cancellation of loan status.

“We think the support for this new way of working is terrible,” Armstrong said. “Guys who have been playing football for many years, using hard copies and so on, are finding it difficult. It’s a radical change from everything they used to know.

Both WosFL and SFA emphasize that courses to help civil servants have been organized and well attended.

The SFA claims to have rolled out this system to other leagues without major issues, although early on in the system some grassroots players complained about the time it took to migrate from the old system to the new and the lack of support offered to the players. those who struggle to bring about change.

“The reason I’m withdrawing my sponsorship is because Indigo is an IT company with 500 clients across Scotland, many of whom are football clubs,” says Armstrong. “I cannot invest my money in an institution that, in my opinion, does not put its customers first. We need more support with all of this.

He added: “I cannot stress this enough: I believe this system is for the best and that it will work. I just think it will take time.

Indeed, the Comet system is used by 44 other countries, including Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. It was introduced because it was felt that the old system was redundant and no longer viable.

The authorities decided to resolve the problems associated with the changeover to the euro by organizing courses.

Armstrong strongly advocates for better ongoing support.

He added: “I can tell you this is not just a Gartcairn problem. Other clubs came to me to share their concerns. At Gartcairn we were described as a bad draft club. I don’t care about this review.

“If there are people who will benefit from my position on this, then I will be criticized.” Again, I don’t think it’s a bad system, I just think they underestimated the problems and we should work together to solve them. It’s mostly about support.

A 15-point deduction left Gartcairn manager Mick Dunlop fighting for relegation

The club now faces a relegation battle. It’s unclear how the dispute will play out off the field, but the issue is serious. Gartcairn now sit second in the Premier Division.

Martin Peacock, club chairman, said of the sanction: “I think it was severe. We raised this issue, after all.

“Our intention was to ask a question and it was as if we had incriminated ourselves. It’s disappointing. I don’t think the severity of our punishment can be justified.

The club has 900 players, from children to over 35s, and a thriving women’s team. “We try to put everything into the club here,” he added.

“It’s hard when things like this happen. We try to do everything the best we can and we feel like we’ve been hammered.

He was adamant on one point, adding: “We need to move quickly on the park. We can use that as motivation or whatever, but we have to start scoring points. It must be a return to football today.

This warming feeling offered little comfort as the freezing wind refused to abate and the team faltered, losing 1-0 in a closely contested match.

A late goal from Chris Erskine settled matters for Glenafton as a spectacular sunset unfolded behind the park. This produced extraordinary light. Gartcairn hopes this will be a harbinger of a brighter dawn to come.