AFC Fylde return to action in doubt as Coasters accuse rival clubs of 'hypocrisy'

The dispute over the continuation of the three National League competitions took an acrimonious turn last night, with Fylde accusing some clubs of 'hypocrisy' in seeking to 'cherry-pick' which fixtures to fulfil.

Fylde's division, National League North, is due to resume tomorrow after a two-week suspension, though clubs are in the process of voting over whether to abandon the season and declare it void because of funding concerns.

Some clubs are reluctant to play until the outcome of the vote is known but have been instructed to do so by the National League.

On Wednesday 17 National League clubs, including half of those in NL North, issued a joint-statement expressing a willingness for matches to resume, though only if both clubs wished to play and fully funded Covid-testing was made available. Guiseley were among the clubs to sign up to the statement.

The West Yorkshire club have, at the time of writing, made no official comment about Saturday's game at Mill Farm.

Last night Fylde, who are strongly opposed to scrapping the season, issued the following statement.

"On the morning of Wednesday, February 3, we were informed by Guiseley AFC that they would be unable to fulfil our fixture this Saturday.

"We received this news in light of a Zoom meeting between all member clubs of the National League North and South on the evening of Tuesday, February 2.

"A joint-statement signed by Guiseley AFC was published on Wednesday, February 3 that stated clubs were in support of the recommencement of the season, ‘but only when there is a fully-funded Covid testing programme in place and the safety of their players is guaranteed’.

"At no point during Tuesday’s call did any of the 17 clubs express their concerns around Covid testing nor did they voice any issues regarding the safety of players.

"After being made aware of the joint-statement, AFC Fylde Football Club reached out to Guiseley AFC to understand their position regarding our fixture this weekend, to which they confirmed they were not able to fulfil the fixture.

"We then made further contact to provide reassurances around safety and diminish any concerns by offering to fund an in-house lateral flow testing programme for all Guiseley AFC players and staff.

"After further discussion, Guiseley AFC informed us that the decision to withdraw from Saturday’s fixture was unrelated to safety and was, in fact, for financial reasons.

"As it stands, two of the teams who are signatories to Guiseley’s joint-statement are prepared to play in their FA Trophy fixtures this Saturday but have the hypocrisy to declare themselves unavailable to fulfil their league fixtures on the following Tuesday.

"We are astounded that when prize money and an opportunity to progress in an FA competition is at stake, those clubs deem it safe to compete.

"We strongly believe the picking and choosing of which fixtures to fulfil is a slap in the face of those fighting to continue.

"Clubs, such as ourselves, are doing everything in their power to overcome each obstacle that presents itself, while others aren’t.

"We sincerely hope that the National League take a tough line on those taking this stance, as we believe cherry-picking which fixtures to fulfil is bringing the game into disrepute and severely damaging the integrity of the competition. "

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