Tara Murray
The future of Haig Fawkner in the Victorian Turf Cricket Association remains unclear after a motion to expel the club was postponed.
Clubs were set to vote on the membership of the senior division club at Wednesday night’s annual general meeting.
A motion was passed to adjourn the matter while legal action between Haig and the association was ongoing.
The legal action stems from a match in January where several Haig players received heavy suspensions following a Sunshine United game, where the ball was tampered with.
VTCA president Zoran Havranek said had the motion been successful and Haig’s legal action was also successful, it could have led to more legal action.
“There was a motion to adjourn the matter until after the court matter is settled,” he said.
“A settlement was prepared and given to Haig last week. They wanted to wait until after the annual general meeting.
“There was meant to be a directions hearing on Friday, but we’ve found a subsequent conflict of interest with Haig’s lawyers as they’ve done work for the VTCA in the past.”
Havranek said with the legal fees being covered by money that would normally go back to clubs, they don’t want to incur any additional costs.
While the motion about Haig’s future in the competition was adjourned, a separate motion in regards to the de-registration of five Haig players who were involved in the ball tampering matter went ahead.
The five were de-registered from the competition, after 32 clubs voted in favour, 21 against and six abstained from voting in a secret ballot.
Once the suspensions in place are over, the players are able to play in other competitions.
At the meeting, the association elected a new vice-president while it is set to elect three new board members as well.
Havranek said they were changing the makeup of the tribunal following the critique after the Haig situation, while the appeals board will now be made up of clubs.
Information will be provided on the association’s website following appeal hearings.
Other things floated at the meeting were earlier start times for senior XI matches, a veteran’s competition, an open Sunday competition for all players and a rule change about slow over rates.
