Nikita Barannik, a youth football coach for "Push Team", has been disqualified for one year after fielding an over-age player using falsified documents during official matches in the Kirovohrad regional championship.
"The integrity of youth competitions depends on fair play and proper age classifications," the regional football association stated when announcing the punishment.
The investigation revealed that Barannik had been using Artem Shkolyarov, born in 2011, in matches while presenting him as his younger brother Egor Shkolyarov, who was born in 2013. This two-year age difference gave the team an unfair competitive advantage in their age group.
The deception came to light when both brothers were simultaneously registered and playing for the Elena Grustnaya Gymnasium team during the "Side by Side" tournament. Quite a rookie mistake, wasn't it?
As a result of this violation, "Push Team" has been handed technical defeats in all matches where the falsification occurred. The club also faces a financial penalty of 10,000 hryvnias (approximately $250). This serves as a reminder that age categories in youth sports exist for a reason - to ensure fair competition among children of similar physical development.
Do such severe penalties effectively deter similar violations in youth sports, or do they simply punish the children who had no say in the adults' decisions?
