Town have been excluded from this year’s Endeavour Automotive Suffolk Premier Cup for fielding an ineligible player in their first-round win at Hadleigh United last month.
The Blues play an U18s side usually augmented by a handful of more senior players in the competition.
Following the game at Millfield on September 23rd, which Town won 2-1, it emerged that one of the Blues side was 15 with the competition having a lower age limit of 16.
The rule is something of an outlier with 15-year-olds eligible to play in the Premier League, the EFL and the Carabao Cup, as well as the other competitions to the senior Town’s academy sides take part in, including the FA Youth Cup.
We understand the club, who accepted the expulsion with no argument, are now lobbying Suffolk FA to amend what appears an anomalous rule.
In a statement, Suffolk FA chief executive Andy Wilesmith said: "It’s never nice to have to remove a club from a competition and we don’t take this decision lightly.
"Unfortunately, the evidence was clear and the rule, which is not only a competition rule, but an FA rule was broken.
"It’s complicated by the fact that Ipswich Town, as a professional club, operate under slightly different playing rules around the eligibility of players, including young players.
"In this instance the Suffolk Cup competitions are played under Open Age adult football rules and so we have to apply these to all participants equally.”
Town’s exit means Hadleigh will be reinstated and will visit Cornard United, who Town were due to face next Tuesday, for a round two tie on a date to be set.