Rangers to face Queen’s Park in Scottish Cup after Stranraer kicked out of competition

Rangers will face Queen’s Park in the last 16 of the Scottish Cup after their original opposition was kicked out of the competition.

Stranraer face disciplinary charges over the fielding of an ineligible player in their win over Queen’s Park, and an independent panel has found them guilty of breaking the rules and expelled them from the cup.

The League Two side had booked a place in the last 16 and a money-spinning trip to Ibrox by defeating the Glasgow side in a rescheduled match earlier this month.

Stranraer were originally meant to play the tie three days previously, but it was postponed due to heavy rainfall and a new date was set.

Goalkeeper Lyndon Tas made a crucial save in a penalty shoot-out to put his side through and set them up to play Premiership opposition.

However, Tas had only joined Stranraer on the day of the game, completing a loan move from Hearts. Scottish Cup rules state that teams can only field players who would have been able to play for the club on the originally scheduled date.

The Scottish FA’s Judicial Panel Protocol, which lists the possible punishments for any breaches of their rules, says that breaking the rule on eligibility brings mandatory expulsion from the cup, even if the offence is admitted and considered at the lower end of the scale.

While Stranraer argued their case and believed Tas’ signing constituted an ‘emergency loan’, which would be permitted if approved by the governing body in advance, the tribunal ruled that wasn’t the case.

Despite Stranraer’s “good faith” argument, the rule breach meant the Scottish FA had no option other than to remove them from the competition and reinstate Queen’s Park. They will face Rangers at Ibrox in a televised game on Sunday, February 8.

The Spiders pulled off a shock win against Rangers in Govan last year in a 1-0 victory that piled pressure on Philippe Clement before the Belgian was sacked two weeks later.

Following the decision. Stranraer issued a statement expressing their unhappiness at the outcome.

It read: “Stranraer FC acknowledges the decision of the Scottish FA to expel the club from this season’s Scottish Cup for fielding an ineligible player.

“While we believe the circumstances surrounding the breach were unfortunate and exceptional, we recognise that the responsibility for player registration and selection ultimately rests with the club.

“This will come as an immense disappointment to all our supporters, staff, volunteers and players, particularly in view of the incredible effort to win our tie with Queen’s Park, and the rewards that a tie against Rangers would bring.

“Naturally, we share this disappointment, particularly given the positive progress being made both on and off the pitch this season, and would like to offer our sincere apologies to everyone involved with the club.

“As we move forward, the best possible outcome is that lessons are learned and action taken to ensure that situations such as this can be avoided in future.

“Despite this setback, the club remains united and fully focused on continuing the momentum we have built.

“We would like to thank our supporters for their continued backing during this challenging time, along with those involved in collating and presenting our case.”

The Scottish FA has charged clubs over breaking the same rule twice in recent years. Queen’s Park themselves fielded an ineligible player in February 2023 and were ejected from the tournament, while Banks O’Dee suffered the same fate in October 2022.