The Ryerson Rams men’s soccer team is forfeiting the first six games of the season after it was revealed that a player has been deemed ineligible to play.
A member of the team failed to meet the academic requirements to be considered an active member. The identity of the player is being withheld for privacy reasons.
“The player is struggling right now,” said Ryerson athletics director Ivan Joseph.
The team was made aware of the investigation last Friday and received the notice on Monday that since the player did not meet requirements, games would be forfeited.
Ontario University Athletics and U SPORTS, the national governing body for university sports, were notified immediately following confirmation on the situation. This all came about after a routine review of student-athletes’ academic performance.
“They’re clearly down now but they’re supportive of their teammate,” said Joseph about how the team is doing. “The boys are strong and resilient, and looking to move forward.”
Joseph says the team should still have a shot to make the playoffs this year.
“Last year we had six wins and one loss,” Joseph said. “We still have eight games left. We would need to win at least four or five of those games to get a chance.”
The student-athlete is ineligible to play for the remainder of the season, but will be able to play again next fall.
The team would stand at 6-0-1 if it did not forfeit the games, but now sits at 2-6-0.
“We look to move forward. We’re glad we caught it in a timely fashion so that it didn’t jeopardize the entire team for the whole season,” said Joseph.
All Rams games played prior to Sept. 10 will now become losses. The team’s two wins from the past weekend will remain as victories.
The team’s statistics will remain unchanged, with the exception of the disqualified athlete.
My name is Kayla McLaughlin, and I am a fourth-year journalism student at Ryerson University. I have a large interest in entertainment news, television and radio broadcasting, and online multi-media writing.