"NZ Football can confirm that a complaint has been made by Waitakere United. Our Head of Competitions Daniel Farrow is currently investigating this complaint and whether there has been any breach of the rules. While the investigation is going on, he will not be available for comment," said Thornton.
The Bay franchise general manager (operations) Shane McKenzie yesterday confirmed they were aware of some allegations against the the team but had not officially received anything formal from NZ Football or premiership authorities.
When asked if Bay United's papers were in order, McKenzie replied: "We're very confident that everything we've done is right."
He declined to comment further until the franchise received something formally from the governing bodies.
Here is the list of Bay United lineup on Monday (numbers denote what's on their shirts):
1 Joshua Hill (GK), 2 Sean Liddicoat, 3 Matsumoto Kohei, 8 Finlay Milne (captain), 6 Alex Palezevic, 9 Facundo Barbero, 10 Sam Mason-Smith, 12 Ross Willox, 17 Fergus Neil, 14 Martin Canales, 19 Nile Walwyn, 11 Saul Halpin, 13 Ethan Dent, 18 Lewis Tiller, 5 Mathew Whatley, 26 Liam Outtrim (RGK).
That was the order of the official team list when the game kicked off at 4.30pm with Bay blitzing Waitakere 3-0 in the first half.
Hill, Liddicoat, Matusmoto, Milne, Palezevic, Barbero, Mason-Smith, Willox, Neil, Canales and Walwyn started the game while the rest of them were substitutes.
According to football sources, players in the premiership must have New Zealand passports to be considered "locals" and even permanent residency isn't enough.
It isn't clear if every franchise team in the national summer league is expected to indicate who the foreign players are in every playing squad submitted before each game.
However, here are the status of the Bay United players from Monday:
■ England-born Hill, 21, hails from the town of Buckingham, near Milton Keynes.
■ Liddicoat, 19, is a defender and is born in Brunei but has Kiwi parents and this year represented the national under-20 men's team.
■ Matsumoto, 27, is from Osaka, Japan.
■ Milne is a 26-year-old from Palmerston North and is the brother of Black Caps strike bowler Adam.
■ Palezevic, 19, is the Kiwi-born son of Serb immigrants Diana, a recruitment agency worker, and Ratko, a software developer, who live in Wellington.
■ Barbero, 20, a striker/midfielder, is from Santiago del Esero in northern Argentina.
■ Mason-Smith, 25, is a striker from Cambridge, East Anglia, north of London, who arrived on the shores of New Zealand to ply his trade four years ago for a season with Richmond Athletic Football Club in Nelson.
■ Talented teenager Willox arrived in the Bay with Scottish parents, nurse Joan and TV technician Richard, settling in Havelock North with his three brothers as a 10-year-old from Glasgow, Scotland, finding himself in the former Bay United academy that former Scottish Jonathan Gould established. It isn't sure what his nationality is now.
■ Neil is a 24-year-old left wing back who is born and bred in Napier.
■ Martin Canales, 25, is a striker-cum-defender in Bay United coach Brett Angell's outfit and is born in Santiago de Chile.
■ Walwyn, 22, is a Saint Kitts and Nevis international footballer in his debut season here.
■ Midfielder Halpin, who celebrated his 25th birthday yesterday, is an Englishman and was born in Bodim.
■ Defender Dent, 27, is, according to "Transfer Market" born in the US but has dual citizenship with New Zealand.
■ Tiller, 18, made headlines this time last year when West Ham United picked him for their under-18 squad. He is closer to home than many realise, hailing from Dannevirke but moving to Auckland about two years ago to further his career.
■ Whatley, 24, is a Welshman and defender making his debut for Bay United.
■ Reserve keeper Outtrim is a schoolboy who made his debut for Palmerston North Marist in the Lotto Central league last winter.
