Doncaster Rovers confident lessons have been learned after transfer restriction is cut short

Back in late 2023 the club were handed a £2,000 fine and a three-window ban on paying transfer fees. After an appeal, an independent disciplinary commission has ruled the punishment will stand - but that the second and third window bans will be suspended, unless Rovers breach the rules again.

The Free Press understands that officials within the club are confident that such a matter will not occur again and that lessons have been learned from the episode. It is also understood that the person responsible is no longer working at the club.

This latest news means that Rovers will be able, if they so wish, to sanction transfers with a fee attached in the upcoming summer window. The news incidentally came on transfer deadline day, with Rovers completing their sixth signing - Hull's Thimothée Lo-Tutala arriving on loan - of this period just minutes after the EFL dropped the announcement.

As they were still under the restrictions, five of their signings have been loans whilst Jay McGrath's arrival on a permanent basis after an agreement was reached to sign him on a free transfer from previous club St Patrick's Athletic.

In a detailed document explaining how they came to their decision, the commission references the late payment of a loan fee owed to Brighton and Hove Albion as being the trigger for this punishment. Although not name-checked specifically, the matter is thought to relate to the loan signing of Todd Miller who joined Rovers from Albion on a half-season loan deal in January 2023.

Rovers officials are hoping that the matter can now be put to bed and fans' fears can be allayed as the club embark on the final three months of the season as they bid to steer themselves away from the League Two relegation picture.