Carrick face no sanction after hearing into Haveron charge

Carrick Rangers were charged over manager Gary Haveron's failure to properly serve a touchline ban

Carrick Rangers' Premiership status is secure after an IFA Disciplinary Committee opted not to apply any sanction following a hearing into manager Gary Haveron's touchline ban.

The club could have been deducted three points and relegated from the top flight, or been fined at least £350.

In a statement the committee said the club did not not explain the failure to properly implement the three-game ban.

However it opted to "exercise its discretion" in not imposing a sanction.

The Committee indicated that "the interests of justice were best served by not imposing a sanction in all the circumstances".

How they finished at the bottom of the Irish Premiership

The decision confirms Warrenpoint Town's relegation from the Premiership, with the second leg of the promotion/relegation play-off between Ballinamallard United and Institute set to be rescheduled.

The Mallards defeated the Championship side 2-1 in the first leg at the Riverside Stadium on 6 May.

Haveron sat out a three-game ban handed out by the IFA, but was in the dugout for his club's match against Dungannon Swifts on 23 April when he should not have been there.

"The club did not explain to the Committee's satisfaction the reasons why the start date for the suspension set out in the initial charge letter (18 April 2016) was not complied with and therefore the challenge from Carrick Rangers was not upheld," read the statement released on Wednesday night.

"The Committee took into account the points made on behalf of the club and decided to exercise its discretion under the overriding objective as outlined in Articles 1.6 and 1.7 of the Disciplinary Code and found that no sanction should be applied."

"In applying its discretion it took into account, what it found to be the honest intention of the club to serve a suspension, the fact that three matches had been served and points made regarding possible confusion in the way in which the suspension was to be implemented."