The Bulls have released an official club statement:
Hereford United have submitted a detailed explanation to the Football League concerning the signing of Rob Purdie which has led to a charge against the club of fielding an ineligible player in the match at Torquay United on February 1st.
Purdie was one of three signings made on Monday January 31st and the club say confusion arose because all three were subject to different deadlines. It was a genuine administrative oversight in the very hectic hours leading up to the transfer deadline, which the club reported to the League as soon as it was discovered.
The case will be heard by a Football Disciplinary commission in the near future and the club will be asking for a personal hearing.
Meanwhile Torquay have said that the rules state players have to be registered with the Football League by 12pm the day before the match.
They have also been charged with fielding an unregistered player, Jake Robinson, at the same game.
For the record, Richard Prime has written that there are at least three different cut-off times for registering players.
In an article on the Hereford Times website Prime explains the timing.
Technically, as a free agent, his (Rob Purdie's) registration should have gone through by 12 noon last Monday to enable him to play the following night at Torquay.
Perversely, had his loan simply been extended, United would have had until 5pm to completed the registration.
And, to add to the complexity of the situation, had they registered Purdie as an emergency loan, as they did with Harry Pell, they would have had until 4.45pm on the Monday to complete the registration.