Football Association of Singapore confirms BG Tampines’ forfeiture of S’pore Cup final
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BG Tampines Rovers players Trent Buhagiar (left) and Syazwan Buhari dejected after losing to Lion City Sailors in the Singapore Cup final at Jalan Besar Stadium on Jan 10.
PHOTO: ST FILE
Follow topic:
- BG Tampines Rovers forfeited the Singapore Cup final to Lion City Sailors due to a regulatory error.
- After replacing Joel Chew with Yuki Kobayashi in the 81st minute, Tampines failed to maintain the minimum four Singaporean players on the pitch, breaching competition rules.
- Coach Noh Rahman took responsibility for the "honest mistake", and the FAS confirmed the forfeiture ruling with a 3-0 loss for Tampines.
AI generated
SINGAPORE – Five days after the Singapore Cup final ended in a farce owing to a substitution gaffe, the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) confirmed on Jan 15 that the Lion City Sailors have been awarded the 3-0 victory after BG Tampines Rovers were ruled to have forfeited the match.
In the final on Jan 10, defending champions Sailors defeated the Stags 2-0 after extra time
But a cloud of uncertainty descended after Tampines fell foul of the Singapore Cup rules, which stipulate that “all clubs shall ensure that a minimum of four Singaporean players are on the pitch at all times, except in the case of a Singapore player who is sent off by the referee for either an indirect or direct red card”.
The Straits Times reported then that Tampines was expected to eventually forfeit the match with a 3-0 scoreline, though that was not confirmed officially on the night.
The FAS said in a statement: “BG Tampines Rovers was found responsible for breaching article 19.2 of the Singapore Cup 2025/26 Regulations by failing to maintain a minimum of four Singaporean players on the pitch at all times.
“This took place in the 81st minute when Japanese national Yuki Kobayashi came on for Singaporean Joel Chew.
“By doing so, the club also breached article 4.2.4 of the same Regulations, therefore triggering article 4.3, which states that the match will be declared lost by forfeit by BG Tampines Rovers by a score of 3-0.”
The club will also face a fine of at least $5,000 for the breach.
Post-match, Tampines coach Noh Rahman had accepted responsibility for the blunder.
The 45-year-old said: “The original plan was to sub out Koya (Kazama), but at the last minute, Joel was saying he had a problem, so in the split second, we didn’t really think about it and it was an honest mistake. I take responsibility for that.”
The FAS shared that the decision on an infringement of competition rules was taken after the match had been allowed to run its natural course, following which the incident was reviewed and addressed in accordance with competition regulations.
It also reiterated “its commitment to upholding the integrity of its competitions and ensuring strict adherence to all competition regulations”.
Tampines will next take on Young Lions in a Singapore Premier League match at Our Tampines Hub on Jan 16.
