Read below: I'd say we are nailed and Brighton  get the points.

The Football Association have not publicly statedthe reasons behind the decision, but are believed to have decided against a points deduction, as the player was registered as a Sunderland player, but international clearance had not been received for him to play in England following the end of his loan spell with German club Augsburg last season. Sunderland claimed to be unaware of the requirement to obtain clearance for a player to return to his parent club in such a situation despite Clause 6.1.1 on Page 557 of the Football Association rules being clear on this point.

The Football Association rules provide, at Clause 6.9on Page 563, that a club who plays an ineligible player may have any points gained from that match deducted from its record and have levied upon it a fine. A decision in relation to a points deduction can be varied if the ineligibility is down to the failure to obtain the relevant transfer certificate or is related to the status of the player. Were a points deduction to have been imposed against Sunderland, the draw earned by the Black Cats at Southampton in August, would have been counted as a victory for the home side. How crucial that single point will prove to be in the battle against relegation, will become clear over the next few weeks.

The case of Brora does show that clubs may be willing to challenge the football authorities in the Courts despite UEFA stating in the Sion case that clubs not willing to accept the rules of football, should not be able to participate in it. If a team suffers relegation from the Premier League and the single point earned by Sunderland at Southampton turns out to be pivotal, it will be interesting to see if clubs seek to challenge the decision of the Football Association in a legal forum.

Football governing bodies are often in a no win situation as the Brora and Sunderland cases show. There is the argument that they should exercise common sense, rather than punish clubs for what can be simple administrative errors which do not impact upon the sporting result as in the case of Brora. Yet in the Sunderland case, there may have been an advantage gained by playing an ineligible player for the full second-half of a game Sunderland drew. The wording of the Football Association rules, suggests that Sunderland may have been fortunate to escape further punishment in that case.