‘We have taken decision in best interests of football’

The FA were never going to please everyone with their final decisions on how the football season should end for clubs at various levels of the game.

Laurence Jones, FA head of National League System, said: “In recent weeks, we have worked closely with committee and league representatives of Step 3 and below to help identify a way through the impact of Covid-19 on football.

“In this instance, our role is to support as much as possible; we can guide the leagues on their potential options going forward, offer our support, and to provide clarity where possible. We will look to the league and club representatives on the relevant committees as they know their leagues better than anyone else and they will always make decisions that are in the best interest of their clubs and leagues as a whole.”

Jones said in a challenging period they had attempted to keep the process robust by working towards a ‘collective decision that’s in the best interest of the wider game’.

He said they felt it important to come to a decision now that allowed clubs to plan for next season, and keeping open the option of finishing the current season was not seen as sensible.

In terms of deciding between expunging this season’s results or using points per game to work out final tables, Jones said either avenue would have left numerous clubs feeling hard done by.

He added: “I understand that this decision has inevitably caused some clubs, players and supporters to feel a sense of injustice and those feelings are entirely understandable. This is not an easy time for anyone in football and ... there is no decision to suit everyone.”