BLUES owner Steve Hayes says relegation rivals Hartlepool United must be deducted points for fielding a suspended player in their Easter Monday win over Brighton.

The Pools have been charged by the FA after playing defender Gary Liddle in the game they won 2-0.

They contacted the FA to alert them of their mistake and were subsequently charged and given until April 26 to respond.

Hayes believes they must now be punished with a points deduction and believes they should lose the points they won against Brighton.

He said: “Rules are rules and they should be deducted points.”

The FA are hoping to make their judgement before the end of the season. When a similar situation occured in the FA Cup, Bury were thrown out.

An FA Spokesman said: “There are no set sanctions. All options from warnings to fines to points deductions could be considered.”

Hartlepool are hoping their honesty will count in their favour and will also point to the fact that because it was a Bank Holiday weekend the FA did not contact clubs to inform them of suspensions like they normally do.

However, that argument could carry little weight as the five other clubs in the same situation — Leyton Orient, Watford, Lincoln, Huddersfield and Preston — all removed suspended players from their squads.

Meanwhile, another one of Blues’ relegation rivals are also in trouble.

Southend have been granted an extra week to settle an unpaid tax bill with HM Revenue & Customs.