CHATTERIS Town boss Jimmy Unwin is “absolutely livid” at Cambs FA’s decision to dock the club three points for fielding an ineligible player.

Unwin allowed Steven Reid to gain match fitness for Ely City in the Ridgeons Premier Division before the Lilies’ Kershaw Premier League season began.

Reid then played in Chatteris’ 1-1 draw with Lakenheath because the club were unaware they had broken any rules as the sides compete at different levels.

A furious Unwin said: “I’m fuming. Absolutely livid. We’ll definitely be appealing even if we have to go to Soho Square.

“It’s a genuinely honest mistake and we’ve been hit with the maximum penalty. We’ve not tried to be deceitful or play Reid under a false name. We named him on the team-sheet which we wouldn’t of done had we been trying to hide anything.

“We’ve held our hands up and admitted that it was a clerical error but it’s obvious the rule was broken unintentionally. We would have never allowed Reidy to play for Ely if we knew we were doing something wrong.

“If we’ve got the maximum penalty for an honest mistake what happens to teams who get caught doing it intentionally? The punishment is over-the-top.”

The Lilies have had a flying start to their season but slipped to their first defeat in five league games at Great Shelford on Saturday.

He said: “After all of our hard work it’s so hard to accept that three points have been taken from us. Our secretary does a great job and she’s absolutely distraught.

“The Cambs FA didn’t even bother notifying us first and amended the table on the website. I only found out because I had 15 missed calls on my mobile from people who had seen it on the internet.

“It’s been handled shoddily and the least we deserved was a call.”

A Cambs FA spokesman said: “The decision was made by a committee following a breach of rules by Chatteris Football Club. The rules are there and the fact is they fielded an ineligible player.”