16/04/15
The following statement is an update on the appeal against the Southern League’s decision to order the replaying of the Banbury United vs. Slough Town game.
Given the amount of time that has passed and following Tuesday night’s result, the FA's decision now carries such significant bearing to the outcome of the Southern Premier League. Given the current circumstances, we believe that it is now inappropriate to be seeking to influence this through any other means than on the field of play.
For this reason, Slough Town Football Club yesterday requested to withdraw the appeal. The appeal was never meant to be personal, nor was it about the points. It was purely and simply about the principle of spectators not being able to influence the outcome of games and about the protection of officials. However, the time lapse and the turn of events means that it can now only be viewed as personal and would absolutely be about the points.
This is not a decision we have taken lightly and we accept that not everyone will agree with us, but sometimes one has to swallow one's principles and do what is right for all parties. Banbury United should be afforded the opportunity to play for their league survival and not have that influenced by off the field activities. We feel that had the matter been dealt with in a timely fashion, the club would not have been placed in this intolerable position and we currently feel that we have no choice in the interests of sportsmanship.
We still feel strongly that the FA must provide specific guidance to Leagues in such circumstances; that spectators must know that they can never influence the result of a game and that officials should be safe and protected when carrying out their duties and we will pursue these matters further with the FA.
We have now been advised that the FA have granted our request to withdraw the appeal. We will now liaise with Banbury United Football Club to get the fixture arranged at the earliest possible date and details will follow.
Given the amount of time that has passed and following Tuesday night’s result, the FA's decision now carries such significant bearing to the outcome of the Southern Premier League. Given the current circumstances, we believe that it is now inappropriate to be seeking to influence this through any other means than on the field of play.
For this reason, Slough Town Football Club yesterday requested to withdraw the appeal. The appeal was never meant to be personal, nor was it about the points. It was purely and simply about the principle of spectators not being able to influence the outcome of games and about the protection of officials. However, the time lapse and the turn of events means that it can now only be viewed as personal and would absolutely be about the points.
This is not a decision we have taken lightly and we accept that not everyone will agree with us, but sometimes one has to swallow one's principles and do what is right for all parties. Banbury United should be afforded the opportunity to play for their league survival and not have that influenced by off the field activities. We feel that had the matter been dealt with in a timely fashion, the club would not have been placed in this intolerable position and we currently feel that we have no choice in the interests of sportsmanship.
We still feel strongly that the FA must provide specific guidance to Leagues in such circumstances; that spectators must know that they can never influence the result of a game and that officials should be safe and protected when carrying out their duties and we will pursue these matters further with the FA.
We have now been advised that the FA have granted our request to withdraw the appeal. We will now liaise with Banbury United Football Club to get the fixture arranged at the earliest possible date and details will follow.
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