The Glace Bay Colonels have won five Canadian Little League championships, but they were on the wrong side of the scoreboard against the team from British Columbia in the final in Quebec last Saturday.

It's not the score that has parents and coaches upset, it's the use of a player they say shouldn't have been in the lineup of the team from Whalley, B.C. They beat the Colonels 11-0 to win the Canadian championship, but the victory comes with some controversy.

“We all have to have Canadian passports before our team leaves Glace Bay to go to wherever the national tournament is,” said Colonels manager Henry Boutilier. “The reason why is so that everything is prepared to go to the World Series across the border. This guy didn't have a Canadian passport since day one.”

That guy is 13-tear-old Dio Gama, who was born in Las Vegas to Mexican parents.

The Colonels were runners up at this year's tournament and he's been fielding calls from upset parents, who feel their kids were not given a fair shot.

Boutilier says he spoke with officials in Williamsport, Pa., home of the Little League World Series on Monday.

“They're telling me he has an approved waiver, which means he's allowed to play in the World Series,” Boutilier said. “So, as far as they're concerned, he's a legal player and everything is a go. It just seems frustrating. We should have known about this beforehand instead of being kind of ambushed. After it’s all said and done, we get back home and hear this kind of stuff. It goes on too many times in Canada.”

Gama's bat played a big part in the B.C. win. He had two extra-base hits in his three at-bats, scored two runs, and drove in four.

Boutilier, his players, and their parents only found out his status through an online article in Vancouver’s The Province.

That article stated that Gama has lived in Canada for three years, but is still waiting on immigration status.

There was a fear he would not be able to return to Canada if he accompanied the team to the States, so he stayed home.

While the Colonels season may be over, Boutilier says this isn't a case of sour grapes. He says while his team may have lost the game anyway, he's more upset that some of his players missed out on experience in a national championship game.

“Three of my kids didn't get to bat, three of my 11 year-olds, a chance to play on national television and get the experience and they don't play,” Boutilier said. “It could have been a four- or five-run game if they didn't have that big bat.”

Boutilier says he hopes Gama will be able to play in Williamsport and doesn't want his team to be awarded the championship, but says things need to change, so everyone is fair game.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Kyle Moore.