The Ref Stop

Blackpool - what punishment do they deserve?

lincs22

Supply League Observer
Staff member
Observer/Tutor
After the abandonment of the game on Saturday and the fact that it is not being replayed (players have gone on holiday!), what punishment do we think the club deserves?

And just for @haywain - what punishment do the owners deserve?
 
The Ref Stop
None......

Unless grounds return to the days of big steel fences there is little a club can do to prevent determined and organised pitch invaders.
 
How about a fine and points deduction next season?

From what i've heard, every man and his dog knew this was going to happen!!

How many clubs have been deducted points over the past few seasons for pitch "invasions"

My club have given banning orders to a handful of fans who came on to the pitch at our last home game, to celebrate gettting into the play offs!!
 
RELEGATE THEM !!!! ......:D oops too late :confused:

Sorry @haywain couldnt resist......... you can give me it all back after the play offs :)
 
None......

Unless grounds return to the days of big steel fences there is little a club can do to prevent determined and organised pitch invaders.
I'm guessing it will be similar to amature, local league clubs who get fined for "failing to control their spectators" because at the end of the day it is still the club's responsibility to control their supporters.
 
Good question - complex situation

Blackpool (the company) should have to refund all supporters who were there apart from the pitch invaders

They should also have to pay huddersfield town the £50k that they are currently out of pocket for not having the opportunity to finish ahead of 'dirty' leeds, tho i imagine that the football league will probably award huddersfield a 3-0 win and resolve that issue......tho leeds should then be given the 50k

They should be fined whatever the going rate is for failing to control spectators and some action taken to make them play one or more games behind closed doors next season.

Can't imagine that there will be a points deduction but you never know

This is about fans trying to wrest control of their club back from unscrupulous owners - and it ain't over, not by a long chalk
 
It will be a fine and possibly a points deduction for next season. There may also be banning orders for those who invaded.

As for the protesters, there are ways and means of getting the result they want - but that wasn't it (look up John Gurney and Luton Town, I was involved with that.)
 
I'm guessing it will be similar to amature, local league clubs who get fined for "failing to control their spectators" because at the end of the day it is still the club's responsibility to control their supporters.

This sort of incident shows what a joke it is to charge local league clubs .....if a professional club cannot control their spectators.....what hope does Dog & duck Utd have?

As a club chairman I am well aware of the responsibility however the practice is very different to the theory.
 
As much as I empathise with the supporters (and playes to a certain extent) it is the owners that control the Club that are in need o punishment. This was the eruption of years of frustration with the owners.

Start from the top - BFC is a Limited Company, and as such is a seperate entitiy to any person, execpt the Directors are the legal face of the company. How the company is run on a day to day basis is what is fundamentally floored.

The Directors (Oyston family in various guises and generations) are probably not the family you would want on your christmas card list. Son took out dad's ferrari and wrote it off. Dad then sued son through the courts to get his son to pay for a replacement. Somone says something libellous about them and they take them throuhh the courts for damages (currently £20k a pop even if you are in your 70's and livng off state pension). They have spent the promotion and delotion parachute payment on something, but no-one can see what. One company was paid £650k or so for "services". This company has one employee (Director) who is the daughter of the guy who's company does the security, and she is inexplicabbly linked back to the owners - so what was the £650k for? Shrugs shoulders.

Blackpool is quite far from being the most affluent part of the UK. The people that support the club do so emphatically, and may spend a vast proportion of their earnings on tickets to see their beloved. Probably more % wise of their income than any other teams supporters. Their support is vallient and to be commended, lessons could be learnt by some more glory supporting teams out there.It is something daft like 50% (guesstimate) of property in Blackpool is owned and rented by, or has been sold through Oystons Estate Agents (so a lot of fans are playing £25 a game plus £100 a week in rent to them). Guesstimate amounts but it is some stupidly high numbers.

So it is the Comapny that has problems, and these are probably perpetuated by the Directors and their attitude.

Deduction points- this will just hit the fans, and as i do not see them as being at fault i belive this would be wrong.
Fine - the Company has enough to pay this off and quite possibly in a tax efficient way so again, will be paid, but to no positive effect.

Other options - do the teams not have to apply to take part in the FA's competition, ie to be an FA approved club? So the FA culd withdraw their approval status of BFC?

Could the FA investigate the club on whateer gounds it wishes to see if the current owners / management are fit and proper persons?

My background - A VERY close aquaintance has had very very close links to BFC since he was a child, is very involved with the local area and at one point early 2000's was propoing to buy the club when it was up for sale. As a shrewed business man with many sucessful companies he investigates all the legally open and available documentation, with a bit of financial and business analysis, knowing the inner workings of a club. We have been to many many games over the years, from before, upto, during and post their fleeting PL appearance.

BUT (and yes a caveat but also to point out) there is nothing yet that the owners have done that is illegal. Accounts are all audited and correct; how they wish to run a company is up to them; how they treat people is up to them - could ask what is wrong with suing for lible? Nothing legally, but some might question the morality of it. I am sure we all know someone / had a player who is sooooo close to over stepping the mark but not quite, so you can't book them even though you might want to.

To summarise - punishment needed? Yes. Punish the club with points / fine? Yes but will have no effect. Does the upper echelons of BFC need o be changed in order to turn the club around? Quite possibly yes.

Can / could the FA instigate this change in some way? .........
 
0-0

result! :)

i think we have a new strategy for next season - score early and then get the game abandoned

win / win for supporters and management alike
 
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