4:29pm Tuesday 15th April 2008
By Gareth Moorhouse
ALUN Rossiter has accused the Ipswich Witches' team management of "sour grapes" after the Suffolk club threatened to lodge an official protest at the inclusion of guest rider Joel Parsons in Monday's meeting at Foxhall.
Robins overturned an early 10-point deficit to stun the Witches 50-43 and move joint top of the Elite League table, with Sheffield star Parsons contributing a superb paid 11 to the Swindon cause.
But furious Witches promoter John Louis insists Parsons should not have been allowed to ride, claiming his interim' green sheet average of 3.96 made him ineligible to replace Cory Gathercole.
Gathercole, the unavailable Swindon number eight, has an average of 3.01, and any guest should be less than that figure, which Parsons was before he completed six official meetings.
Parsons completed his sixth Sheffield meeting on April 5, and his new interim average came into effect seven days later, but was not confirmed by the BSPA until 1pm on Monday.
Ipswich complained to match referee Chris Gay before the meeting, but Speedway Control Bureau manager Graham Reeve ruled it was too late for any change to be made.
A furious Louis said: "I am absolutely disgusted. The rules are crystal clear and were in use last season.
"I am not accusing Swindon of any underhand dealing, but rules are rules.
"The BSPA appear to have made an oversight, but that does not alter the fact that Parsons' average was too high for him to ride.
"Even if they didn't know until Monday, Swindon still had enough opportunity to track a legal rider."
But Swindon boss Rossiter insists he did not get the call about Parsons until 4pm on Monday, just three hours before the start of the meeting.
Rosco, pictured below right, said: "I was driving around the M25 when the referee phoned to say they had re-done the green sheet averages.
"Joel Parsons was already on his way down from Hull at that point.
"If he had scored four or five points nobody would have said anything, but all of a sudden Joel is the hero and people start asking questions.
"I think it's a case of sour grapes from Ipswich. I don't think anybody expected Joel to do that well."
Rossiter accepts that under league rules Parsons' interim average was too high, but insists Swindon were not to blame for the oversight.
"We did nothing wrong," he said. "It was just one of those things.
"The interim average is only there for team building purposes. Until Joel has had six rides home and away, you won't get his true average."
Speedway Control Bureau chief Reeve confirmed that any Ipswich protest would fall on deaf ears.
He said: "It's unfortunate for Ipswich but Joel was allowed to ride on Monday.
"If the correct averages had been published last week like they were supposed to be then this would not have happened. It wasn't until about 4pm on Monday that Swindon found out, and nobody can get another rider at such short notice. It's an impossibility.
"I was only contacted about the problem 45 minutes before the meeting. Neither Swindon or Ipswich were to blame."
The two sides lock horns again on Thursday night at Blunsdon, when Gathercole will deputise for the injured Pijper.
Meanwhile, Robins' in-form star Mads Korneliussen has been called up as a guest rider for Poole's meeting with Coventry Bees tonight.
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