RIZWAN Mohammed has accepted Albion Sports' punishment but confirmed that there was no intention behind the club's rule breaking.

The Toolstation NCEL yesterday announced that Albion Sports have been deducted three points and fined accordingly after admitting a breach of League Rule 6.9.

This relates to them playing George McMahon in the 2-1 win at Silsden AFC on Friday 28 July, 2023, whilst he was under suspension at the time.

The Premier Division table has been altered to reflect the deduction retroactively from the date of the offence with immediate effect.

Albion now sit 3rd on 22 points in the NCEL Premier Division, with Campion (23) and Silsden (24) above them.

Giving his thoughts on the punishment, Albion boss Mohammed said: "We accept the punishment and the fact that we made an error, but it certainly wasn't intentional.

"We did check to see if the suspension had finished and according to the online page that we use to check certain things like the eligibility of players, it did say that George was available and that the suspension was over.

"In hindsight, we should have known that George had only missed two games rather than three. Unfortunately, it was a chaotic time for everyone; it was an admin error and an oversight for the club.

"We do accept the punishment and we will now continue to move forward as a club."

Despite gracefully accepting the points deduction and fine, Mohammed did concede that those ramifications may well impact the club going forward.

He said: "Of course it's going to hurt us a bit because three points are massive at any level of football. There are some teams in this division who are paying out £3000 or £4000 (to the players) to collect three points every week, so it just shows how competitive this division is.

"We are under no illusion that this punishment may well come back to bite us at the end of the season but there's nothing we can do now, so it's about regrouping, putting it behind us and focusing on the football."

Albion do have the chance to make their punishment a distant memory when they travel to Rossington Main today, but Mohammed conceded that getting the three points will be no easy task.

He said: "Every game in this league brings different challenges, and on paper there is no easy game. You have to work extremely hard to collect the three points and this weekend will be no different.

"We do have games in hand on Rossington, yes, but they're only three points behind us in the league and will be eager to claw that back on Saturday.

"They like to play on the front foot, attack the spaces quickly and they play an attractive style of football. They know how to win games as well, which is always a bonus.

"They'll be feeling extra confident knowing that they're at home, so we'll have to be at our best to take the points home this weekend."