Trade in your ‘big club’ tops and put your shirt on Town!

GRIMSBY Town have announced a shirt amnesty for fans of the “big six” teams involved in the controversial breakaway European Super League (ESL). Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham are among 12 teams to have agreed to join the new league.

They are joined by Italian clubs AC Milan, Inter Milan and Juventus, as well as Spanish sides Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and Real Madrid.

The formation of the ESL was announced on Sunday, with the new setup stating the founding clubs had agreed to establish a “new midweek competition” and would continue to “compete in their respective national leagues”. The move though has been widely condemned, with FIFA and UEFA both saying they would not recognise such a competition, and that players involved would be banned from all other competitions at domestic, European or world level, and could be prevented from representing their national teams.

Critics of the ESL say the move is being driven purely by greed, with owners of the so-called “big six” looking for ways to make more money for themselves. A number of lower league clubs have shown their disapproval for the league, and the Mariners have gone a step further by offering a shirt amnesty for anyone wanting to give up their replicas from the six English clubs involved. Anyone holding a shirt no older than three seasons old from one of the clubs will have the opportunity to trade it in for Town shirt of their choice from the current season.

The club have ennounced all shirts surrendered during the amnesty will be donated to local youth groups and humanitarian projects in Africa.

Fans are able take their shirts in to the club shop at Blundell Park or the Mariners Trust bar between 10am and 4pm on weekdays, and varying times on weekends.