Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Clubs protest to FA after non-league results voided
MORE than 100 clubs, including Peterborough, have now signed a letter to the Football Association to express “profound concern and displeasure” with the decision to expunge all results for the 2019-20 season at non-league and grassroots level.
The FA has faced criticism for voiding the season for non-league divisions below the National League and National League North and South, and for women’s football below the Women’s Super League and Championship, due to the coronavirus outbreak.
A letter sent to the FA on Monday carried an initial 64 signatories from across non-league football, but has attracted additional support since first being published, with South Shields saying the number had surpassed 100.
The letter accuses the FA of acting with “needless and inexplicable haste” in acting to void the season and said this was “coupled with (a) total lack of substantive dialogue or consultation with affected clubs”.
Signatories to the letter said they agreed with the decision to halt play during the ongoing health crisis but could not understand why results were voided in the lower leagues while the Premier League, EFL and others remain on hold with the hope of completing the season.
“Most clubs in steps three to six have now completed 70-80% of their league fixtures, and it is incomprehensible that these results should be delegitimised and expunged on the basis that the final quarter of the season cannot be fulfilled in the future,” the letter said.
“Our demand for the FA to reconsider its decision is also about sending a message to the fans of our clubs, who have spent hard-earned money to follow their teams up and down the country, letting them know their support was not in vain.”