Surely I'm not out the cup here.
Rules on it read: "If say there were a few teams with the same points and goal difference for and against in 16th place then there 3 matches would be looked at and extra points awarded for wins or draws and goals against teams in higher Pots! this would encourage clubs to play entertaining attacking football!
The 1st Round of the Elite League Cup will involve all 36 Clubs from the Elite League, Division One & Division Two,
36 Clubs Divided into 3 Pots.
Pot A with the top 12 ranked teams, Pot B with the following 12 ranked teams and Pot C with the last 12 ranked teams.
Every team plays against ONE team of each Pot, example, Team from Pot A would play another team from Pot A, one from Pot B and one from Pot C".
Pot 1 sides are Elite
Pot 2 sides are Division 1
Pot 3 sides are Division 2
Osasuna results:
Pot 1: 2-1 win
Pot 2: 1-1 draw
Pot 3: 1-0 loss
Valencia results:
Pot 1: 1-1 draw
Pot 2: 1-0 win
Pot 3: 2-1 loss
Lyon results:
Pot 1: 2-0 loss
Pot 2: 2-0 win
Pot 3: 1-1 draw
Hearts results:
Pot 1: 1-1 draw
Pot 2: 2-0 loss
Pot 3: 2-0 win
When it comes to these rankings, as per the rules on the site for this cup I should be through. I'm the only side with a win against a Pot 1 side, backed up with a draw against a Pot 2 side. Closest team to that is Valencia with a draw against a Pot 1 side, win against a Pot 2 side and a loss against a Pot 3 side but they're through? Regardless of opinion on who
should be through or who
should have beaten another side whatever their division, the rules state it is weighted on results against clubs in higher pots. Nothing is ever mentioned about it being in relation to the pot you're in.
Osasuna are the only side to score 2 goals against an Elite side, with another goal against a Division One side and zero against Division 2. Valencia have one goal against an Elite side and one goal against a Division 1 side with 2 against a Division 2 side.
Lyon have zero against Elite, 2 against a Division 1 and 1 against Division 2. Hearts with 1 against Elite, zero against Division 1 and 2 against Division 2.
"extra points awarded for wins or draws and goals against teams in higher Pots!" - Osasuna have the only win against a team in Pot 1, the most goals scored against a Pot 1 side and joint best goals against teams in Pot 1.
Lyon and Valencia both have wins in Pot 2 with Osasuna recording a draw and Hearts losing.
However as Pot 1 is higher than Pot 2 this result should have less of an influence on the final standings - nothing is ever mentioned in the rules about this influence being based on the pot your club is placed in - the only thing that mentions this is "extra points awarded for wins or draws and goals against teams in higher Pots!".
Pot 3 should have the least influence of all, given it's against teams 2 pots below those in Pot 1 - as stated by the rules.
Can easily be put into a formula:
Win vs Pot 1 side = 3, Draw vs Pot 1 side = 2, Goal vs Pot 1 side = 3
Win vs Pot 2 side = 2, Draw vs Pot 2 side = 1, Goal vs Pot 2 side = 2
Win vs Pot 3 side = 1, Draw vs Pot 3 side = 0, Goal vs Pot 3 side = 1
Osasuna Pot 1: 9, Pot 2: 3, Pot 3: 0. Total: 12
Valencia Pot 1: 5, Pot 2: 4, Pot 3: 1. Total: 10
Lyon Pot 1: 0, Pot 2: 6, Pot 3: 1. Total: 7
Hearts Pot 1: 5, Pot 2: 0, Pot 3: 5. Total: 7
Adjusting for the levels of pots, Osasuna have done better versus teams in higher pots than Valencia, Lyon and Hearts have. We're the only side to beat a Pot 1 team, and solidified that with a draw vs Pot 2 opposition. The result against the Pot 3 side is unfortunate but by the rules should have the least amount of influence when it comes to a point system. When the rules state "extra points awarded for wins or draws and goals against teams in higher Pots!" - I fail to see how we don't come out on top of that.
I understand that some people interpret the rules as 'extra points being awarded for wins or draws or wins or draws and goals against teams in higher pots than you' but the rules
don't say that. So for the rules to say one thing but be applied in a different way is ridiculous. The rules even go as far to include extra points being awarded for 'wins or draws' - so it could also be argued that basing this off of defeats aren't even part of the rules and point system.
Not sure there is a way of appealing it but going by the rules we should be through. Regardless of what people think on who should've beaten who (the ruling also isn't dependent on defeats - wins and draws only), the rules state that it's based on games vs teams relative to their pot (not your own). Including the relation to your own pot was never in the rules and to include it as part of this decision is ridiculous.