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CLUB STATEMENT
yvonne hunter26 Aug - 09:06
SPELTHORNE SPORTS V WEMBLEY - MATCH POST[ONED
Following yesterday’s fixture postponement, we would like to clarify the situation.
We currently do have an influx of Canadian Geese visiting our pitch. This has been the case since the start of the season and on all previous games, both for us and our groundshare team Staines & Lammas, it has been cleared as much as possible from the playing surface when requested by the referee. We cannot be the only club to have wildlife visiting the pitch and am sure other teams have had similar experiences. To have opposition players making derisive general comments on social media is not constructive or helpful. All previous games have gone ahead as scheduled.
After both teams had warmed up on the pitch with no problems, we were informed just 10 minutes before KO that Wembley were unwilling to go ahead with the game. The referee asked us to clear the pitch and delayed KO for 10 minutes to allow us to do this which we did. Wembley still refused to play and the referee advised us that he had no choice other to postpone as he ‘couldn’t force them’ to play. We contacted our league and the referee contacted the officials’ secretary for clarification.
We were told that there was absolutely no reason to not play and that the game should go ahead. The referee informed Wembley management of this, only for them to refuse again.
Wembley’s subsequent posting on twitter is misinformed and has led to other social media channels reporting the referee as the decision maker in this. This is misinformed is not entirely the case.
This is now in the hands of the league and no other comment will be made.
We would like to apologise to supporters who travelled and expected to watch a game of football on a beautiful Bank Holiday Monday and thank you for your support & messages.
We currently do have an influx of Canadian Geese visiting our pitch. This has been the case since the start of the season and on all previous games, both for us and our groundshare team Staines & Lammas, it has been cleared as much as possible from the playing surface when requested by the referee. We cannot be the only club to have wildlife visiting the pitch and am sure other teams have had similar experiences. To have opposition players making derisive general comments on social media is not constructive or helpful. All previous games have gone ahead as scheduled.
After both teams had warmed up on the pitch with no problems, we were informed just 10 minutes before KO that Wembley were unwilling to go ahead with the game. The referee asked us to clear the pitch and delayed KO for 10 minutes to allow us to do this which we did. Wembley still refused to play and the referee advised us that he had no choice other to postpone as he ‘couldn’t force them’ to play. We contacted our league and the referee contacted the officials’ secretary for clarification.
We were told that there was absolutely no reason to not play and that the game should go ahead. The referee informed Wembley management of this, only for them to refuse again.
Wembley’s subsequent posting on twitter is misinformed and has led to other social media channels reporting the referee as the decision maker in this. This is misinformed is not entirely the case.
This is now in the hands of the league and no other comment will be made.
We would like to apologise to supporters who travelled and expected to watch a game of football on a beautiful Bank Holiday Monday and thank you for your support & messages.
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