Albertville Boys Soccer and Cedar Bluff Baseball Forced to Forfeit Games

The Albertville junior and varsity soccer teams and Cedar Bluff baseball team violated competiton rules and were forced to forfeit games by the Alabama High School Athletic Association.

soccer ball / Hannah Foslien

The Albertville junior and varsity soccer teams forfeited several games because of rules violations. The Alabama High School Athletic Association ruling on Friday stated that the school self-reported violations, including playing ineligible players.

The two ineligible students violated the Outside Participation Rule and the Academic Rule. Therefore, all the games the teams won with the ineligible players do not count. The school also had to pay a fine and be put on probation. The rule states a student may not participate on a non-school team or in an outside sports activity (including camps, tryouts, showcases, etc.) in his/her sport during the school sports season. Certain sports are exempt from this rule, but soccer is not one of them.

Another team that also violated the rules for playing an ineligible player was the Cedar Bluff High School baseball team. They, too, were placed on probation for playing an ineligible student in violation of the AHSAA’s Enrollment Rule and Transfer Rule, which states that a student must be enrolled in school by the 20th day of the beginning of the school year and have not graduated or have a certification from another accredited school.

The varsity baseball team must forfeit all games won by the ineligible player, and the ineligible student is assessed restitution for the contests he participated in while ineligible.

So far, neither school has commented on the ruling by the AHSAA.