Latest news with #nonleague
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Non-league football in TURMOIL: Clubs hit out at 'unjust' punishments which have ruined title charges and RELEGATED teams... as FA admits system is built on 'outdated' tech
Non-league clubs across England are in uproar against an 'unjust' system which sees them punished for fielding ineligible players - despite being 'unaware' they're suspended. Title battles and relegation scraps have been settled by points deductions, with at least 13 clubs from the seventh to 10th tiers of English football directly impacted. Teams claim that a faulty FA admin system fails to notify them when a player is suspended for misconduct in Sunday league, which carries over into non-league. This has led to clubs fielding players who are banned while apparently unaware of it, only to be hit with points deductions and fines months down the line. The Whole Game System (WGS), the portal which deals with the admin, is being replaced next season after the FA admitted it is 'built on outdated technology which can no longer keep up the requirements of our users'. Mail Sport has spoken with insiders at multiple teams who feel let down, while sources fear other clubs have got away with the same offence not being flagged. The stance of leagues and the FA? Take more care - you're responsible for your players. The firecest battle involved Lydd Town, which is seeing lawyers wade in. Lydd are protesting a four-point deduction which will see them relegated from the Southern Counties East League Premier Division, the ninth tier of football. Relegation would mean expulsion from the FA Cup, a mass exodus of players, and a drop in attendances, the club says. Manager Ryan Smith is taking their case to an FA hearing at Wembley on June 13 to try and get it overturned. If that happens, Snodland Town would be relegated instead. 'We're being punished off the pitch for something beyond our control. This isn't just a points deduction—it's a betrayal of the game's integrity,' Smith told Mail Sport. 'The highest level we've ever reached—the FA Cup—is now at stake. We will not be silenced; we will not back down. We'll fight this injustice with everything we've got—for the players, the fans, and our club.' Lydd had played Charlie Dickens in seven matches despite the fact he was suspended from all football for a misconduct charge he picked up in Sunday league. Smith argues they were never made aware of the situation and Dickens' Sunday league side, Egerton, even wrote to the league to accept responsibility and admit they never told the player of his suspension. 'Never in 25 years have we had a charge for playing an inelegible player until now,' Smith added over the phone. 'We won 14 games out of our last 18 and were celebrating a great escape. But we only found out (about the punishment) three days before the end of the season.' The league's disciplinary commission disagreed and were 'satisfied' that the suspension would have been showing on the Whole Game System for multiple weeks. This is one of many cases, though in most the clubs have backed down. Lydd Town were the only club who would speak on the record. There is also a fear that other sides have committed the same offence but gone unpunished. An anonymous source well acquainted with football in Kent describes one situation where the league only became aware an ineligible player had featured because they were notified by a man walking his dog who recognised him. In the Combined Counties Premier League South, also the ninth tier, Jersey Bulls and Redhill have missed out on the title after points deductions. AFC Whyteleafe have been promoted on 95 points, with Jersey Bulls and Redhill being made to settle for play-off positions on 93 after being docked three each. Jersey Bulls mistakenly played Toby Ritzema in a 4-0 win against Tooting and Mitcham after misunderstanding a suspension. They voluntarily forced him to sit out for two matches beforehand after he reached 10 yellow cards, with one of those coming in the FA Vase. The FA admitted earlier this season that the Whole Game System was unfit for purpose Clubs hit with points deductions Seventh tier (non-league step three) Isthmian League - Premier Division: Cray Valley -3 Eighth tier (non-league step four): Northern Premier League East Division: Grimsby Borough -3, Brighouse Town -3 (relegated as a result) Southern League South Division: Tavistock (-1) Ninth tier (non-league step five): Combined Counties League Premier Division South: Jersey Bulls -3 (missed out on title), Redhill -3 (missed out on title) Northern Counties East League Premier Division: Albion Sports -3 (missed out on play-offs) Southern Counties East League Premier Division: VCD Athletic -1, Lydd Town -4* (relegated if FA appeal fails) Tenth tier (non-league step six): Northern League Division Two: Bedlington Terriers -3 (relegated anyway) Northern Counties East League Division One: Dronfield Town -3 (relegated anyway), Appleby Frodingham -3 (relegated anyway) Southern Counties East League First Division: Rochester United -6 *Seventh-tier Matlock Town have also been deducted three points and are relegated, but Mail Sport understands this was not related to the Whole Game System. But the FA Vase booking did not actually count towards his total of 10, so when he did subsequently reach that threshold, the club were unaware and played him against Tooting and Mitcham. Redhill have been punished for the same offence and therefore Whyteleafe, who finished third, have been promoted. Elsewhere, Albion Sports have missed out on the play-offs of the Northern Counties East League Premier Division, while Brighouse Town have been demoted from the Northern Premier League East Division, both after three-point deductions. Mail Sport contacted both to clarify the circumstances which have led to their docks, but neither got back. A tenth-tier club, Rochester United of Southern Counties East Division 1 (SCEFL 1), accepted a six-point deduction with 'disappointment' after twice fielding Max Morgan - despite not knowing a ban had crossed over from Sunday league. The club wrote: 'Rochester United at all times have never sought to deny that the player played, our mitigation has always been that we never knew he was suspended, a fact that was examined in detail and found credible by an independent FA Disciplinary Panel back in January. 'Sadly SCEFL declined to hear the same body of evidence despite repeated offers, gave misleading information on the appeals process, and generally thwarted all discussions on the fallibility of notification systems that are being retired at the end of this season.' Mail Sport has contacted the Kent FA for comment. An FA spokesperson told Mail Sport: 'The Whole Game System successfully administers football across over 900 leagues, 18,000 clubs, and 1.5 million players annually. 'Whilst suspensions are administered via the system, clubs are ultimately responsible for checking the status of suspensions and any cards issued are processed in accordance with FA Rules and Regulations.'
Daily Mail
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Meet the FA Cup top scorer you've never heard of: Project manager and dad-of-four Gary Lockyer gets his glory after years of sacrifice - and reveals the secrets to his prolific form
Step aside, Erling Haaland. There's a new goalscoring sensation in town. That's because Gary Lockyer, who plies his trade for eighth-tier Ashford United, has the unlikely honour of being this season's FA Cup top scorer. The father-of-four, 32, works for a telecoms company in his day job but has still found the time to score 10 goals in England's historic competition this season. Through five preliminary and qualifying rounds, the fairytale ending with a third qualifying round exit to Chertsey Town, Lockyer filled his boots with enough goals to put himself on the brink of history. Unless James McAtee, Nico O'Reilly, Eberechi Eze, or Ismaila Sarr score eight in Saturday's final between Manchester City and Crystal Palace, Lockyer will be officially crowned as the standalone Golden Ball Award winner in partnership with Mitre. The FA Cup's top scorer. It's the stuff of non-league dreams. 'It's a very proud moment. Surreal, really,' Lockyer tells Mail Sport from Thomas Tuchel 's seat at Wembley. 'It's something I've been joking around about with my friends. You grow up wanting to play in this competition, the oldest and most magic of competitions. We just dream of getting to the first round. 'We started back in August (against Egham Town, a 3-0 win). I started to take notice of what we could really achieve when I scored four against Three Bridges, which we won 6-1. My aim from there was to get to 10, because that felt a figure no one could really get to.' Ten indeed seemed an optimistic but proven number to aim for - last season's winner, JJ Lacey of Biggleswade Town, also reached that total and was presented with his prize by Dion Dublin at the home of football last season. Lockyer will be at Wembley on Saturday with his wife and two of his boys and will be presented with his award. His daughter would've loved to have been there but is actually playing in a tournament with Brighton's Under-12s. It's a football-mad family (Lockyer's a Manchester United fan), but it didn't start off that way. Lockyer was a late bloomer with this manic game, only getting into it at 10 years old when a friend invited him to watch a game in Kennington, South London. Little did he know that day would birth such a devotion for a sport which can demand so much. The forward had trials at Charlton and Aldershot but never went through the academy system and has instead hardened his spirit with hundreds of non-league games - and all the boggy pitches, squalid changing rooms, and rough play it entails. Lockyer's commitment to his craft has been balanced alongside night shifts and often missing out on a special rite of fatherhood: watching his kids play. 'It's a lot of commitment,' he admits. 'But I want to keep pushing myself and be the best version of myself in terms of football. 'It can be quite tough. I used to go to work at night. I'd train on a Tuesday, work, drive home and get there at six o'clock in the morning, get four hours of sleep, then I'd have to get up. A golden tribute to the top goal-scorers of the 2024/25 @AdobeWFACup and @EmiratesFACup Forged by the hands at @ThomasLyte, each Trophy, is an exact replica of the @MitreSports Ultimax Pro match ball. So we went behind the scenes to find out how these are made.... — Mitre Sports (@MitreSports) May 13, 2025 Can anyone surpass him in the final between Man City and Crystal Palace? 'I don't think so!' 'Credit to my wife, she drives my daughter to Brighton and Hove on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. She's been supportive since day one. I kiss my wedding ring before I take it off to go out and play. 'She followed me home and away right up until she started taking my daughter to football. It's going to be a great day Saturday for her to be here.' Ashford United, in Kent, all the way down in the Isthmian League Division One South East, play in front of an average audience of 389 fans. That's 231 times less than Wembley's capacity. But speaking to Lockyer, a project manager in daily life, his professionalism shines through. There are thousands of players at his level - ones who slipped through the net, ones who the net never caught, ones working every day to catch the eye of a club higher in the pyramid - and you'd be a fool to underestimate their dedication or talent. Declan Howe of Gainsborough Trinity and Harvey Sayer of Lowestoft Town deserve shout-outs; they've scored eight in this season's FA Cup, giving Lockyer a run for his money. The beauty of the FA Cup is that it allows these nearlymen to dream. And to test themselves. To live, for a day, the life of a professional footballer when they get a big away tie. A life they very much live in spirit with how they eat, how they train, how they think about the game. The Golden Ball Award in Partnership with Mitre shines a light on these local heroes and gives them a chance to share the stage with the modern greats. Lockyer only lives a mile or two from Ashford's Homelands Stadium. There, he's an icon. 'You need that psychology of being the best,' Lockyer insists. 'You have to grow up very quick in non-league because it's obviously a bit of a difference to under-23s, under-18s football. The academy people do come out and struggle sometimes. 'You've got you've got fully grown guys that are going to work and give you a bit of stick and you've got to be able to take that. 'You have to have that mindset of, let's get the stats up and try to get a move. Being the best you can.' Someone is clearly having a lot of fun with the sound system at Wembley because our chat keeps being interrupted with motivational music blasting across the stands. On Saturday, as that music plays out, Lockyer will look across the turf and feel a small part of the story. The FA Cup is for everyone. Haaland will be aiming for an eighth trophy at City in three seasons. He'll knock over records like dominoes in the years to come. But will he be able to say that he knocked Gary Lockyer of Ashford United off his perch in the 2024-25 FA Cup campaign? Our striker smiles and his eyes light up. 'I don't think so.'
BBC News
13-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Peebles Rovers: 130-year-old football club races to find new home
A 130-year-old football club fears it could face being thrown out of the Scottish pyramid system unless it can find a new Rovers have been playing fixtures at the picturesque Whitestone Park since the early 20th Century - but the ground now fails to meet criteria for clubs competing in the East of Scotland have explored developing their ground, moving to new parts of the Borders town and even ground-sharing with their rugby neighbours - all without now face expulsion from the league unless they can find a new home over the coming months. Chairman Allan MacDonald said: "We've been reaching out for help for many years - but we're now running out of time." Peebles Rovers remain the only club from the Borders to have played in the Scottish their stay in the Third Division was short-lived - between 1923 and 1926 - they have also enjoyed some headline grabbing Scottish Cup ties over the decades, including a goalless draw with Hibs at Easter Road in 1923, and an infamous clash with Brechin in 1959 which required three separate has been limited, with only a handful of cups and league titles, but Peebles have remained a mainstay of Scottish non-league football since forming in the McDonald added: "We have a fantastic history going back more than 130 years - and it would be a travesty if we were to be just kicked out of the league."We don't meet the required ground criteria at the moment and we have exhausted almost every avenue trying to find a solution for taking the club forward." To meet criteria first introduced along with the Scottish pyramid system in 2013, Rovers created dugouts in front of their historic stand, and erected temporary fencing around the ground's with more stringent criteria now required - which include closer proximity of changing facilities and permanent fencing - Whitestone Park is no longer inquiries have ruled out developing the park, which is partially shared with the town's cricket team, mainly on planning attempts have been made to create a new playing facility at other sites in the town, but all have fallen through. The latest proposals to ground share at the neighbouring Gytes with Peebles Rugby Club have also been met with problems and Rovers vice-chairman Dave Lamb said: "We have had multiple promises over the years but we are no further forward."It's been made clear that we cannot develop Whitestone Park, and without a new ground we're facing automatic relegation at the end of this season to East of Scotland Division Three."If we are still here the season after that then the league say we will be removed altogether."We have 10 months to find a new facility or we are finished." Recent meetings between Peebles Rovers and league officials have not resulted in any leeway being provided over criteria Borders Council, which is responsible for both Whitestone Park and the neighbouring Gytes, is looking to hold meetings with both the football club and league officials in the coming leader Euan Jardine: "We are fully aware of the predicament Peebles Rovers find themselves in."We have asked the East of Scotland Football Association for a meeting so that we can come up with a solution."It is in all of our interests to to give Peebles Rovers a secure future."The East of Scotland FA has been approached for comment.
