Bury FC are facing not only a fine but a points deduction from the North West Counties Football League after allegedly fielding a player already contracted to another club in a recent game.
However, with this potential punishment already looming over them so soon after the start of the season, fans will no doubt be frustrated to hear that they may soon be losing three points — and as we all know, they’re all crucial come the end of the season.
As confirmed in an update issued by the club: “Following a North West Counties Football League Management Committee meeting held on 6 September 2023, we have been notified of the League’s intention to fine the club £100 and deduct three points for fielding a player contracted to another club.”
The NWCFL have only proposed a small fine but a points deduction is always bad news.
The statement goes on to insist, “The club disputes this and is in the process of appealing to the Football Association. No sanctions will take effect until the appeal has been heard. We know supporters will be severely disappointed to learn that we might lose hard-earned points, as is Andy Welsh and his team.
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“We would, however, ask for your patience as we go through the appeals process and will not be sharing any further information at this stage so as not to compromise that appeal. In addition to the appeal, the club has now also made some process changes to mitigate against this risk in future.”
Given the information the club have provided thus far, which is limited given their hopes of avoiding the ruling, the issue looks to have almost been somewhat of a clerical error — the team assured the supporters they were unaware the as-yet unidentified player was still contracted elsewhere.
“The volunteer involved in the transfer is no longer working with the club, and there is no evidence he knew of a problem”, the statement continues. “Neither the player nor any of the management team were aware of any concerns, and we would not play anyone where there was any known problem.
“There is nothing to be gained by blaming individuals given the specifics of this case.
“The points deduction does not alter any of the results achieved to date. They all stand. There are 105 points up for grabs in our league campaign now. The focus is on continuing with our preparations and winning as many of those points as possible until the end of the season.”
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Sport
Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Danny Jones -
11th September 2023 
