Hamilton Accies plan to appeal against SPFL sanctions for transfer embargo breaches

Hamilton are planning to appeal after being docked six league points and fined £22,000 by the Scottish Professional Football League for breaches related to paying trialists and amateur players while under a transfer embargo.

The sanctions against the League One club were announced on Wednesday in the wake of an independent SPFL disciplinary tribunal hearing held on October 10.

Accies – relegated from the Championship last season after incurring a 15-point deduction for various rule breaches – were banned from signing senior professional players in July after failing to fulfil tax obligations.

Despite the restrictions, John Rankin’s side started this season strongly and were ahead of Stenhousemuir on goal difference at the top of the league before their six-point penalty demoted them to sixth.

Accies were deemed by the league’s governing body to have breached their “duty to behave with the utmost good faith towards the SPFL and other clubs regarding its paying of trialists and amateur players” while “abusing the registration system by attempting to register professional players as amateur players”.

In addition to an immediate six-point deduction to their league total and a fine of £22,000 – of which £3,000 is suspended until the end of season 2026-27 – the Lanarkshire club were docked one point from their total in the KDM Evolution Trophy league phase.

Hamilton chairman Jock Brown released a statement on Wednesday evening, however, denying any wrongdoing and outlining their intention to contest their punishment with the Scottish Football Association.

“The board of directors of Hamilton Academical Football Club was made aware this afternoon of the tribunal judgement following a hearing on 10 October,” Brown’s statement read.

“The board maintains that the club was not in breach of the rules as announced and intends to exercise its right of appeal to the SFA.

“The club can accordingly make no further comment at this time, other than to reiterate that it is committed to resolving the matter as quickly as it possibly can.”