Selby Town chairman Ralph Pearse expects a long wait for Non League Football to be given the green-light to return.
Mr Pearse, 72, cites the claim that Non League clubs are run on a large scale by volunteers who are over 70 as his reason why.
Even before the UK-wide lockdown was announced on Monday 23rd March, the Government had advised over 70s to self-isolate as they are one of the groups most at risk group from catching Covid-19.
“I cannot see Non League football coming back for a while,” Mr Pearse told Non League Yorkshire.
“No-one in the country knows when the situation will end and even when the lockdown ends, social-distancing is likely to be in place for a while.
“Because over 70s are one of the groups most at risk we’re likely to be one of the last groups to be let out if that makes sense.
“So in turn that makes it difficult to run a Non League club. We have a wide range of ages. I’m 72 and there’s two or three volunteers who are in their 80s. Another one of our main volunteers is in his 70s. Other clubs will be in the same boat.”
The FA made the decision to expunge the 2019/20 season less than 72 hours after Boris Johnson’s unprecedented televised address to the nation.
The FA will probably cite player contracts as the reason why, but the decision was made extremely quickly by anyone’s standards. Leagues such as the North West Counties have claimed a lack of consultation by the FA, whose council ratified expunging results last week.
Expunging all results meant the sterling work by manager Christian Fox was gone. The former York City player had put Selby on the brink of a return to the Toolstation NCEL Premier Division for the first time since 2012 and Mr Pease is devastated.
“Everyone at the club was sickened by the decision,” he said.
“Christian Fox and his team had done a wonderful job over the last three years to put us so close to promotion. I can’t thank enough the efforts of volunteers, season ticket holders, supporters. We were nearly getting 400 people through the gate by the end. To have promotion taken away was sickening and a lot of people are upset because of all the hard work that gone on off-and-on the pitch. It was just gone at a click of a button.
“It was heart-breaking what happened. Everyone in the world is at a low ebb because of the Coronavirus and the lockdown. Selby Town is a big part of mine and other people’s lives. It has been for a very long time. Life is difficult enough at the moment and not just at Selby Town, but the hope of finishing the football season was something that could have kept us going. For me and others at Selby Town, our little bit of hope was looking forward to finishing the season and hopefully winning promotion. That isn’t going to happen now is it.
“I think they have called it too early. I don’t think they wanted to know us at the lower end of Non League Football. We weren’t even consulted. The rug was pulled from underneath our feet without consultation.
“Why couldn’t they wait and see what happens? The Premier League and EFL are trying to finish so why didn’t they wait to see what happens with them.
“If social-distancing goes on for a while, next season might not even happen. What are they going to do if social-distancing is lifted in December?”
Mr Pearse’s issues go deeper with the FA as he believes the way the rules are applied inconsistently on a regular basis.
“Brighouse played an ineligible player because of the International Clearance rules. A player they had signed a few weeks earlier. He’d playing in the country for three years for other clubs and no-one at the FA or the Leagues spotted he had no International Clearance. When Brighouse come to try and put him on contract, the FA turn round and say he’s not got International Clearance. What do they do? Brighouse got points deducted and thrown out of the FA Trophy.
“There’s no leader at the FA and no-one is singing from the same hymn sheet.
“Christian Fox had a stadium ban for two matches two years ago which we had no problem with them. We go to Grimsby not long after and their joint manager had a touchline ban. I believe it was for six games. He was still in the ground. Why is there no consistency between the West Riding FA and the Lincolnshire FA? They are both governed by the FA, yet they are all doing different things. It isn’t right.
“We’ve told by the West Riding that the FA say if managers are sent off they will receive a stadium ban. I’ve no issue with that, but you shouldn’t go to Grimsby and find out the Lincolnshire FA are handing out different punishments.”