As Devonshire Cougars? season hangs in the balance, the club are yet to determine their response to the year-long ban of three influential players.

Sources yesterday revealed that the hierarchy at the Den were considering bypassing the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) council which arbitrates sports conflicts and instead seeking legal recourse regarding the matter.

?Yes we are considering the situation. We are at a very tenuous stage right now. We may seek a legal opinion on various aspects of this. We feel the BFA (Bermuda Football Association) and others have been very authoritarian in their methods and perhaps we need to question the processes they used,? noted a Devonshire Recreation Club (DRC) official.

Two weeks ago Cougars top strikers Raymond Beach and Heys Wolfe as well as ace defender Omar Butterfield were barred from domestic and international action for refusing to undergo a third drug test after two tests proved ?invalid? ahead of the Bermuda national team?s match against Brazilian champions Santos.

The controversy erupted at a critical time for the big cats who had a realistic chance of wresting three titles at the time. Since then they have been booted from the FA Cup in dramatic fashion, losing a replay 3-2 against North Village after being held to a 3-3 draw in the first game though they led the Rams 3-1 with seven minutes left in the second period of extra-time.

Away to Southampton Rangers tomorrow as the Premier League enters the home stretch, Cougars are in second place on 16 points, three adrift of defending champions Dandy Town with six games to go.

They are also in the Friendship Trophy final but how much their title aspirations will suffer because of the trio?s loss remains to be seen and is something of which those at the Rec. are mindful.

?We are well aware it may hurt us. We know those boys are an integral part of our team. We have spoken to them and we feel there is a great matter of principle involved here,? noted the source, adding that while the club want the banned footballers to resume playing as soon as possible they wanted to ensure any protest was handled properly.

?We don?t want to make a step without having all our i?s dotted and t?s crossed. When we make a statement we want it to be backed up by all the facts and precedents and to examine the methods and processes used.

?It?s a fight we?re prepared to undertake.?

The club member also revealed that ?immediate approaches? were made to the BFA, the Bermuda Council for Drug Free Sport (BCDS) and Benedict Associates when the ban was first imposed but to no avail.

?We were rapped on our knuckles like we were naughty boys. We were cast aside but I would hope that people come to their senses,? concluded the source.