THE Accrington Stanley betting saga will be dragged out for another week after an FA appeal panel yesterday opted to meet again on September 30 to decide the fate of Peter Cavanagh and four other former Reds players.

Ex-Stanley captain Cavanagh had his appeal hearing against an eight-month ban from football on Monday, after being found guilty last month of betting on Bury to beat Accrington in a League Two fixture in May 2008.

The result of his hearing had been expected on Monday night but was instead delayed until after fellow former Stanley players Robbie Williams, Jay Harris, David Mannix and Andy Mangan – also found guilty during the summer and banned from football – had had their appeals heard yesterday.

But the complex nature of the evidence in each of the five cases meant that, instead of a result being announced last night, the three-man appeal panel decided they needed more time to consider their judgement following the end of the hearings.

They will now meet again on September 30 – the next time all three members of the panel are available – and even then an announcement of the result may be delayed until all five players have been informed in writing.

Stanley themselves have not been implicated in the scandal but have long been keen to see an end to the saga, which has now dragged on for more than 16 months.