Stranraer expelled as Queen's Park handed Rangers tie

Stranraer have missed out on a major pay day against Rangers after being expelled from the Scottish Cup for fielding an ineligible player in last week's victory over Queen's Park.

The League 2 club have estimated they will lose out on £200,000 that would "keep the club running for three or four years".

The Scottish FA confirmed that Stranraer had been "ejected" from the competition following a tribunal on Wednesday.

The governing body has also confirmed that Championship strugglers Queen's Park will instead visit Glasgow rivals Rangers in the last 16 on 8 February.

It will be a repeat of last season's fifth-round meeting, when the Hampden side won 1-0 at Ibrox in a shock result that led to the dismissal of Philippe Clement as Rangers manager.

Accepting the inevitable decision, 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."

Goalkeeper Lyndon Tas was signed on loan from Hearts on the day of the game and saved a penalty in the shootout after a 1-1 draw at Stair Park.

However, the tie had originally been scheduled for the previous Saturday and was called off because of a waterlogged pitch. Cup rules state that only players registered for the original date can play in the event of postponements, abandonments or replays.

The SFA can sanction emergency loans, but it says the move for 17-year-old Tas did not get such approval as Stranraer looked to replace Josh Lane, who had returned to Hamilton Academical at the end of his loan spell.

"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," Stranraer added.

"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."

Stranraer have lost once in 12 outings, moving up to fourth in League 2 and a possible place in the promotion play-offs.

Queen's Park sit bottom of Scotland's second tier and were also knocked out of the Challenge Cup quarter-finals after a penalty shoot-out at home to Raith Rovers.

The Championship club stated: "Having been ejected from the 2022-23 competition for breaching the same rule, we can empathise with the players, staff and supporters at Stranraer FC and wish the club well for the remainder of the season."