Queen's Park kicked out of the Scottish Cup after error over Hearts player

At a disciplinary hearing, the Glasgow club were ejected from the competition after playing Euan Henderson in Tuesday’s fourth-round tie against Inverness. He joined Queen’s Park on loan from Hearts last week but, because he wasn’t signed before the original postponed tie on January 21, was not registered to take part in the rescheduled match.

Inverness go through instead and will now face Livingston in the fifth round. Queen’s Park accepted the decision and admitted they made an error regarding the eligibility of 22-year-old Henderson. Club president David Hunter labelled the blunder a “regrettable mistake” in a statement and promised it would be a lesson learned.

“We have been advised by the Scottish Football Association that our participation in this season’s Scottish Cup is at an end,” said Hunter. “An error was made regarding the eligibility of a player who featured in Tuesday night’s game with Inverness Caledonian Thistle and we have accepted the SFA’s decision.

“It is a regrettable mistake. One we will learn from. Our team put on a tremendous display on Tuesday to win the tie and obviously today’s result is a hugely disappointing outcome. As upsetting as this matter is, it’s vital that we put this behind us quickly, move on and focus on our league campaign.

“The support we received from our fans on Tuesday was terrific. We are conscious that they invested time and money travelling to the game.” “I will be speaking to the Supporters Association over the coming days to suggest how the club can recognise the efforts of the travelling support.”