Stranraer kicked out of Scottish Cup, miss out on Rangers pay day

• Stranraer are expelled from the Scottish Cup after fielding an ineligible player in their win over Queen’s Park
• The League 2 club say losing the Rangers tie will cost them about £200,000
• Queen’s Park are expected to take Stranraer’s place and face Rangers in the last 16

Stranraer have been expelled from the Scottish Cup and will miss out on a lucrative tie against Rangers after being found to have played an ineligible player in last week’s victory over Queen’s Park.

The Scottish FA confirmed on Wednesday that Stranraer had been “ejected” from the competition following a tribunal. The governing body is expected to confirm that Queen’s Park will now travel to Ibrox to play Rangers in the last 16 on 8 February.

Stranraer estimated the fallout will cost the club around £200,000, money they said would “keep the club running for three or four years”.

The issue relates to goalkeeper Lyndon Tas, who joined on loan from Hearts on the day of the match and went on to save a penalty in the shootout after a 1 1 draw at Stair Park. However, the tie had originally been scheduled for the previous Saturday before being postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. Scottish Cup rules state that only players registered for the original match date can play if a game is postponed, abandoned or replayed.

The Scottish FA can approve emergency loans, but said the move for 17-year-old Tas did not receive that clearance. Stranraer brought him in as cover after Josh Lane returned to Hamilton Academical at the end of his loan.

In a statement after the ruling, Stranraer said: “While we believe the circumstances surrounding the breach were unfortunate and exceptional, we recognise that the responsibility for player registration and selection ultimately rests with the club.”

The club added: “This will come as an immense disappointment to all our supporters, staff, volunteers and players, particularly in view of the incredible effort to win our tie with Queen’s Park and the rewards that a tie against Rangers would bring.”

They continued: “Naturally, we share this disappointment, particularly given the positive progress being made both on and off the pitch this season and would like to offer our sincere apologies to everyone involved with the club.”

If confirmed, Queen’s Park’s trip to Rangers would repeat last season’s fifth-round meeting, when the Championship club won 1-0 at Ibrox in a major upset that led to Philippe Clement losing his job as Rangers manager.

On the pitch, Stranraer have lost once in 12 matches and have climbed to fourth in League 2, putting them in the mix for the promotion play-offs. Queen’s Park, meanwhile, are bottom of the Championship and were also knocked out of the Challenge Cup at the quarter-final stage after losing a shootout at home to Raith Rovers.