WESTBURY United’s Hellenic League Supplementary Cup tournament has reached an unsatisfactory conclusion as the club have pulled out of their semi-final game against Pershore Town FC, bringing an end to the club’s season.
United were given a bye into the semi-finals after their quarter-final opponents, Bishop’s Cleeve, failed to raise a side. The club was then informed they would be playing Pershore Town on Tuesday night (26th) in Worcestershire – Westbury United subsequently pulled out as it could not get their players to commit to a four-hour round trip on a weekday at such short notice.
Joint manager of Westbury United, Lewis Porter, said, “Bishop’s Cleeve said they couldn’t raise more than seven players for the fixture and as a result, there was no game at the weekend.
“The league accepted this, which after all the hassle we have had with this Supplementary Cup so far this season, it’s crazy really. We do feel let down by the league.
“We were given bye into the next round, but it’s ridiculous; they’ve put us up against a team in Worcestershire on a Tuesday night – a four-hour round trip, but we’ve had to pull out as we can’t get the lads to commit to a four hour round trip at such short notice.
“The idea of a supplementary cup is a bit strange it itself; no team seems to want to be in it as they all have issue with attending the games. It’s a shame the season had to finish like that.”
The club’s chairman, Greg Coulson, went to Twitter to talk about the decision by the club to not travel up to Worcestershire.
Greg (@gregc05) said, “We have played a team who sent half a team and a load of youngsters, another team who were allowed to postpone the original fixture because of a wedding, and then we had a team pull out because they couldn’t raise a team.
“We are now expected to complete a four-hour round-trip midweek to play in the semi-final. We decided that the integrity of the competition has already been compromised and the only ‘reward’ we would get by staying in would be the cost of travel and player expenses.
“Our potential game today (Saturday 23rd) would have attracted a big crowd due to the teams playing, however it was cancelled late on Friday. Even though the league and the FA don’t seem to understand, we prepare for games in advance; food is prepared, programmes are produced, the pitch is cut and marked all in advance – we don’t leave it till the last minute.
“So, to call off a match less than 48 hours before kick-off will always cost a club time and money. We contacted our semi-final opponents today to let them know we won’t fulfil the fixture, to make sure they don’t waste time and money because that is the way we conduct ourselves.
“The reply we received from the league demonstrates their lack of understanding of how clubs are run and what it takes to host a match.”
Hit with fine?
Greg added, “The league has threatened us with a fine of £250 that can rise to £1,000. They said that we have already caused the league officers extra work and possibly our opponents.
“When we spoke to our opponents, they weren’t aware that they were due to play us so there cannot be any payment due to them as we have given them 76hrs notice of our intentions. Whatever “extra work” the league officers have carried out it is obviously ineffective because the fixture doesn’t exist on full time and the opposition wasn’t aware of the game. If we receive a fine of more than £250, we will not be paying until the league provide evidence that they hit teams who called off games at shorter notice with bigger fines.”
