Saying that what happened "marred what was one of the best games of the year between two first place teams and that is something that the league cannot tolerate", Professional Arena Soccer League commissioner Kevin Milliken announced Friday player-head coach Craig Rhodis has been suspended for the Cincinnati Kings' next road game against the defending league champion San Diego Sockers January 8 following a roster violation that occurred during a 5-4 win over the Sockers December 18 at Cincinnati Gardens.
Rhodis was also fined an undisclosed amount by the league.
During the game in question, two members of the Kings front office noticed the team violated league rules by using 15 players in a game instead of the league-approved 13.
The extra players -- George Davis and Kurt Fischer -- warmed up with the Kings and played in the fourth quarter of the game but did not record any statistics.
No one with the Sockers organization nor the game officials realized the mistake until Cincinnati officials informed them of it.
Before issuing any penalty, Milliken spoke to the Sockers about the incident and were said to be cooperative and understanding over the matter.
Rhodis took full responsibility for the incident, saying he "would not do anything deceitful to circumvent the rules."
"(That night) was an honest mistake. I was dealing with an injured player in one instance, and coaching another player in the other instance, so I did not catch it," he continued. "The reality is that the rules are the rules. I know them. So it is my fault. As soon as we found out, we reported it."
While Milliken truly believes "Craig Rhodis did not knowingly violate the league rules", he also said the league will immediately amend its rules over non-playing personnel on the bench during games and any future violations of the new rules will be dealt with severely.
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