Lebanon has been stripped of their points from a win over France on the opening day of the Rugby League World Cup Nines after it was revealed that they fielded an ineligible player.
The player in question was North Queensland's Jacob Kiraz, who had lined up for Lebanon in the opening match of the tournament, which they comfortably won 12-8 over France.
Under International Rugby League rules, the minimum age for a competitor is 16, which allowed Kiraz to play in their mid-season test against Fiji.
However, the tournament follows NRL rules, which state that a player must be over the age of 18, which rules Kiraz, along with Cronulla SG Ball centre Jordan Samrani (both 17) ineligible to play, ruling them out of their final pool games.
The tournament confirmed that the breach in rules had resulted in the Cedars losing the two points that they gained from winning the match.
"The Downer Rugby League World Cup Nine’s Player Eligibility criteria states players may only play for a participating team in the tournament if they are eligible to play for that team in accordance with the RLIF policy," they said in a statement.
"The tournament manual provided to all nations prior to the commencement of the tournament clearly states that it remains the responsibility of each participating team to ensure its players are eligible in accordance with this regulation.
"The breach has resulted in Lebanon being stripped of the two points they received for winning the opening Pool B fixture against France.
"In accordance with accepted precedence, the competition points deducted from Lebanon will not be awarded to France."
Lebanon would ultimately fail to qualify for the semi-finals after losing their must-win game against Wales.
Coach Rick Stone admitted that whilst the loss of both players was unfortunate, it wasn't the main reason for their loss.
“We were really up for the first two games and we just lacked a little bit of energy. Starts are really important in the nines game,” Stone told the media.
“Maybe lost a bit of confidence and a little bit of belief there but that’s the way the game goes.”