Cove Rangers review options after SPFL imposes registration ban until May 2027

Cove Rangers have been barred from registering players until 31 May 2027 after an SPFL disciplinary tribunal found breaches relating to a historic contractual payment and financial reporting. The League One club is reviewing the decision, according to BBC Sport, after the league announced the sanctions on Thursday.

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The SPFL said Cove admitted at a hearing that a payment owed to a player had not been made by its due date. The club also failed to inform the league that it was in default. Those admissions formed part of the case considered by the disciplinary tribunal.

A further finding concerned incorrect information supplied to the league: Cove had certified that no payments to current or former players were overdue as of 31 January 2026. The tribunal also imposed a £5,000 fine, with £2,000 suspended. The SPFL confirmed the player has since been paid in full.

In its response, reported by BBC Sport, Cove said the contractual payment dated from 2024 and acknowledged the decision concerning that payment and the subsequent reporting issues. The club expressed disappointment at the severity of the punishment and said it was examining its options. That response did not announce that an appeal had been lodged.

The decision comes with Paul Hartley’s side second from bottom in League One. BBC Sport reported that Cove had collected five points from their first eight league matches, leaving them one point ahead of Queen of the South. The SPFL’s published table also places Cove ninth, with a goal difference of minus six.

Cove’s next scheduled league fixture is away to Queen of the South on 3 October, according to the SPFL club page, bringing the bottom two together. A home match against East Fife follows on 10 October. In their most recent listed league result, Cove lost 2-0 at home to Ross County on 19 September, before recording cup victories of 5-0 away to Fraserburgh and 2-1 at home to Aberdeen B.