Officials of Pembroke Hamilton Club were left in the dark yesterday over Bermuda Football Association’s decision to deny the Premier Division club the right to exercise a directive handed down two years ago by local football’s governing body.

It is understood PHC officially requested to have tomorrow’s Premier Division clash with defending league champions North Village at Bernard Park postponed, as they have three players currently representing Bermuda at the national level overseas.

Player/coach Kyle Lightbourne, full back Marquel Waldron and forward Jason Smith have all been in Haiti with Bermuda’s Under-20 national squad that is due to return to the Island tomorrow night.

Yet PHC had their initial request denied because, according to the BFA, only teams with four or more players away on international duty are permitted the right to have matches postponed.

However, in November 2004, BFA general secretary David Sabir publicly stated: “It has been decided that teams with three or more players involved in the national programme were given the option to postpone their games whilst the national team is overseas competing.” At the time Bermuda’s senior national squad was preparing for the inaugural Digicel Cup competition in St.Vincent.

Incidentally, PHC had six members involved in the national programme at the time, but waived their right to seek permission to have a Friendship Trophy clash with Somerset Eagles at Southampton Oval postponed.

“The club requested a while ago for the game to be postponed and that request was denied,” a PHC spokesperson stated yesterday.

“The BFA clearly stated before that any team with three players away on international duty has the right to ask for a game to be postponed.”

When contacted yesterday BFA general secretary Sabir - who returned to the island on Thursday from a football workshop in New York with association first vice-president Cal Blankendal - confirmed that PHC did make a request, but declined to go into details as to why the request was ultimately denied.

“I can confirm that PHC submitted a request to have the game postponed,” Sabir told The Royal Gazette.

“The executive discussed and considered it and rendered a decision which they forwarded on to PHC.”

In any case, tomorrow’s Village/Zebras clash will go ahead as scheduled.