09/12/08

MOSSLEY are to make a formal complaint to the Football Association over the abandonment of their UniBond League division one north match on Saturday at Durham City where they were 4-0 ahead.

Lilywhites manager Chris Willcock described it as a “disgraceful” decision which has left a bitter taste.

Willcock said: “I am a great believer in the ‘respect’ campaign for referees, but this was a disgraceful decision which cost us three valuable points.

“When both managers, the referee (Paul Brown) and assessor met at 2.30pm, I told him that if there was any doubt he should not start the game.

“He was happy with the surface and it was not until they were 2-0 down that the Durham players began complaining.

“The referee never consulted me - and why he couldn’t have left making a decision to half time, which was only five minutes away, was also a mystery.

“The pitch was no worse than when we started and Durham originally were keen to get the game played as they have a backlog of fixtures.”

Willcock added there was no way he would have been happy for the game to go ahead if there had been any danger to his players.

“I would not have wanted any of my players to break a leg or pick up a long-term injury. I am not that naive or callous,” he remarked.

Willcock added that the decision to abandon the game could easily have caused a “riot” among the players as tempers became frayed.

He also pointed out that he is unhappy his side did not receive the credit it deserved after establishing a 4-0 advantage after 35 minutes against opponents who were unbeaten at home in the league.

Willcock said: “It was a great game and spectacle and the goals we scored were not influenced by the conditions in any way - as some have suggested.

“There was never any chance that we were going to concede five goals and lose the match. If anything, we would have won by an even greater margin.”

source: http://www.oldham-chronicle.co.uk/