With their finances under immense strain, volunteers worn out bringing grounds up to safety standards and many still worried about their immediate future, the last thing non-league clubs need is for life to be made even more difficult.
Unfortunately, for those competing in the FA Cup over the weekend, that was exactly the outcome of the latest set of restrictions on supporters devised by the FA and the government.
Non-league football has been divided into two camps ever since the decision to class the entire National League as “elite” sport. That ruling has seen clubs at Steps One and Two of the English league pyramid lumped in with the Premier League and Football League and forced to play behind closed doors, while clubs at Step Three and below – that is, the seventh tier – are allowed to admit limited numbers of spectators.
It was announced last week that, ahead of the FA Cup second qualifying round where National League North and South clubs join the fray, fans would be permitted to attend. While that was welcome news, it came with notable caveats: where two “elite” clubs were playing, no fans were allowed; where “elite” clubs were hosting “non-elite” clubs, likewise; and where “non-elite” clubs were hosting “elite” clubs, only “spectators of the home club” were allowed through the turnstiles.
Drawn against Dulwich Hamlet, who compete in the National League South, that left storied amateur club Corinthian-Casuals as one of the “non-elite” sides in the unenviable position of having to enforce a ban on away supporters. In a statement which went semi-viral and was picked up by the national media, they announced that they were not in favour of what they described as an “utterly baffling ruling” and added: “We believe it is wholly unnecessary and we are having to put in place these restrictions under duress.”
Speaking to i before the game, Corinthian-Casuals board member Stuart Tree made plain the intense frustration behind that statement. “We’ve already hosted a couple of matches with Covid restrictions in place,” he said.
“We have a comprehensive risk assessment in place enforced by our Covid officer. What’s the difference between Dulwich Hamlet fans and Haringey Borough supporters, who we comfortably hosted a couple of weeks ago?” As a Step Three club competing in the Isthmian League Premier Division, Corinthian-Casuals are permitted a maximum 600 capacity and, adhering to all guidelines, were adamant that they could have accommodated Dulwich fans without issue.
To further confuse an already tangled web, Corinthian-Casuals were allowed to admit “neutral” spectators under the rules. “How do you differentiate [between] sets of supporters?” said Tree. “Do you test them before they pass, like the scene from Monty Python’s Holy Grail? What’s the criteria, they must wear our club colours?
“We have numerous first-time visitors to our club on any given matchday, often enamoured by our history or story. We pride ourselves on being welcoming. Now we have to somehow vet those wanting to enter the ground? Laughable.”
Unsurprisingly, their opponents were in agreement. “We fully back the statement which Corinthian-Casuals put out,” Dulwich Hamlet director Tom Cullen told i. “They see it as being as ridiculous, as we do. The idea that coronavirus is able to detect ‘elite’ football fans from ‘non-elite’ football fans seems a bit far-fetched to me.
“It’s just a complete lack of common sense on show. Dulwich fans have been unfairly penalised for supporting a club a tier higher, which isn’t right.”
That was not the only example of restrictions being exposed for their lack of logical consistency over the weekend. Ahead of their National League opener against Chesterfield, Wealdstone announced that they would be organising a socially distanced screening in their clubhouse in an attempt to generate much-needed extra revenue.
With the game strictly behind closed doors, however, that raised the prospect of fans watching a live stream to a backdrop of blacked-out windows as the actual match took place in the fresh air a stone’s throw away. No doubt seeing the absurdity, the National League asked Wealdstone to cancel the screening at the last minute. Wealdstone responded with a statement saying: “We regret this outcome and the short notice given, however we believe this is in the interests of the club and the wider National League.” In the end, the match was rained off regardless.
Restrictions on fans in the FA Cup are set to be reviewed ahead of the third qualifying round.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3lcnboO
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