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Feud between AFC Fylde and Chester continues with new statement issued on accusations

An ongoing feud between AFC Fylde and Chester continues with a new statement issued on accusations relating to an earlier fixture.

Two months ago, AFC Fylde allegedly threatened to report Chester to the police and the FA after a dressing-room bust-up after their National League North clash earlier this season.

According to Sportsmail, Fylde claimed that up to 20 Chester fans attempted to storm their changing room following their 1-0 win at the stadium, and that their 67-year-old kitman was abused by the hosts’ assistant manager, Colin Woodthorpe – a former coach of AFC Fylde.

Fylde kitman Steve Cowell told Sportsmail that Woodthorpe repeatedly took to swear at him and called him ‘dog’s breath’ in the away dressing room, before coming at him ‘like a raging bull’ as he tried to leave the ground in a van.

Woodthorpe had a seven year spell as a coach at Fylde before being axed by them two years ago, which led to him successfully suing the club for unfair dismissal. He then had a blow with his former employers earlier this summer when the club reported him to the FA for allegedly posting abusive messages on social media, yet no action was taken.

Chester said there was an incident involving their supporters after the match which saw three red cards handed out before Fylde scored a last-minute winner, then there is a dispute with fans said to have entered the dressing room. Woodthorpe is understood to have admitted to swearing at Cowell, but has denied charging at him.

CHESTER STATEMENT:

We wish to express our disappointment at media reports relating to events at the conclusion of our home fixture with AFC Fylde on Saturday, 27 August.

Following the publication of an article on Daily Mail Online on Monday 29 August that contained serious allegations against our supporters and assistant manager Colin Woodthorpe, The FA and Cheshire Police contacted Chester FC to confirm the matter was being investigated.

We are pleased that both The FA and Cheshire Police have now confirmed that neither the Club nor Colin will face any action.

It was our belief that the article – and a second article published on Daily Mail Online on Friday, 2 September – contained several unfounded and malicious allegations, however we have deferred from commenting until the completion of the investigations.

The day after the match, we commenced an internal review into these events, including reviewing CCTV footage and witness reports, and it was immediately apparent the evidence did not support the sensationalist nature of the articles.

Allegations that Colin was ‘like a raging bull’ or that ‘up to 20 Chester fans attempted to storm the changing room’ and police had to ‘drag’ supporters away are spurious. The Daily Mail Online also reported that ‘Fylde officials were unhappy at aspects of their treatment throughout the afternoon’ but we have received no correspondence to support this claim.

We believe our football club has demonstrated that where the behaviour of supporters, players or staff falls short of the standards we expect, we will address this in the strongest possible terms. However, we will defend our Club and those connected to Chester FC when subjected to unfair and unwarranted accusations.

It is disappointing to note this incident was reported in the Daily Mail prior to any formal concerns being raised with The FA, National League, Cheshire Police or ourselves, and regret that the reputation of both clubs has been damaged through the publication of these unsubstantiated allegations.

We are also troubled the articles draw reference to Colin’s past employment with AFC Fylde and subsequent legal proceedings, and a previous FA investigation into social media posts, which we are concerned attempt to question his character.

Colin is a hugely valued member of our coaching team who is greatly respected within the game for his achievements as a player and coach. This has been a challenging period for Colin and we are pleased his reputation remains intact .

We thank The FA and Cheshire Police for their consideration and would expect AFC Fylde to apologise for the negative publicity this has generated for Colin and our Club.

AFC FYLDE STATEMENT:

It has come to the attention of the AFC Fylde Board that a ‘club statement’ was issued on 21 October by the Board of Chester FC, relating to events that occurred at the Chester FC vs AFC Fylde fixture, held at Chester’s Deva Stadium on 27 August this year.

AFC Fylde would like to record that they consider the Chester FC statement – superficially expressing concern about their unfair treatment by the Daily Mail newspaper – to be an outrageous misrepresentation of events and an insult to those at AFC Fylde that were subjected on the day to both verbal and physical aggression of the worst kind, not only from Chester supporters but also by a member of the Chester FC management team.

The decision by Cheshire Police and the Football Association (FA) not to charge Chester FC and a specific member of their management team was not, as stated by the Board of Chester FC, the outcome of unfair and unwarranted accusations.

Events on the day, together with first-hand witness statements and supported in writing by Cheshire Police, resulted in a number of Chester supporters being banned by the Club. The Police and FA subsequently confirmed to AFC Fylde that they were prepared to bring charges against Chester’s Assistant Manager relating to the entirely unwarranted aggression directed by him towards the AFC Fylde kitman.

Following the events of 27 August, AFC Fylde took all appropriate actions by notifying Chester FC that they had reported their concerns to Cheshire Police and to the FA. When AFC Fylde was subsequently notified by Cheshire Police and the FA that they were ready to charge the Assistant Manager of Chester, both the Police and the FA were informed in writing by AFC Fylde that AFC Fylde would prefer matters to be concluded without the potential threat to a fellow professional’s livelihood.

The AFC Fylde Board continued to work diligently with Cheshire Police and the FA to ensure that all related witness statements and activities were handled in a way that would ultimately facilitate cordial relations between AFC Fylde and Chester FC. It was the continuous involvement of the AFC Fylde Board on all related matters, together with the gracious behaviour of AFC Fylde’s kitman, that specifically prevented formal charges from being brought against the Assistant Manager of Chester by both the Police and the FA.

It was the AFC Fylde Board, with the support of the AFC Fylde kitman, working with the Police and the FA, that suggested that a written apology from the Assistant Manager of Chester would settle matters, rather than charges being brought against a fellow professional. This was explained to the Assistant Manager of Chester, who, to his credit, telephoned the AFC Fylde kitman to offer his sincere apologies for the events of 27 August. The Assistant Manager followed this up with what appeared to be genuine remorse in his written apology – albeit an apology that was limited to his swearing rather than other actions directed towards the kitman

When the written apology had been received by the kitman, the AFC Fylde Board confirmed to the Police and the FA that they were content that matters could be considered closed and that AFC Fylde was happy that no charges were to be made by either party against the Assistant Manager of Chester.

AFC Fylde subsequently received written confirmation from the Police and the FA that this matter could be considered closed. The FA, however, subsequently confirmed that they had issued a formal warning to the Assistant Manager of Chester.

Chester’s self-serving announcement of 21 October, portraying the Club and its staff as the hapless victims of circumstance, AFC Fylde and the Daily Mail newspaper, does their Club no credit whatsoever. The clear inference that AFC Fylde was in some way culpable in the sequence of events, and that Chester was due an apology from AFC Fylde, remains, at best, a shameful attempt to deflect attention from the behaviour of a small number of Chester’s supporters and, separately, their Assistant Manager.

It is the opinion of AFC Fylde that whoever approved the Chester FC statement has done themselves and their Club no credit whatsoever.

AFC Fylde has written to Chester FC, with a request that Chester’s statement is withdrawn and that an apology for the misrepresentation of events is issued to AFC Fylde. No such withdrawal or apology has been received, hence this statement by the AFC Fylde Board.

The Board of AFC Fylde would like to reiterate their previously stated views, expressed to Cheshire Police, the FA, and the National League, that they wish to maintain positive and effective relations with all Clubs within the National League structure – including their good friends at Chester FC, who they look forward to hosting at Mill Farm in January 2023.

Fans gave their thoughts as the feud between AFC Fylde and Chester continues with a new statement issued on various accusations…

@2_youngy: Basically want an apology from the FA and the police over something that didn’t happen. AFC Fraud do it again 😂

@Jack5292: Have you considered telling The Daily Mail again? If you could somehow suggest Colin Woodthorpe is a refuge you’d literally break their website.

@Jsryder95: Horrible little club.

@smokyblacon1: Lies lies and more lies

@bornrjs: *sighs* time to read fyldes weekly club statement

@PhilHu66: Fylde embarrassing club

@_DarloMatt: AFC Fraud

@JordanDodd05: Oh for fuck sake, here we go again

@GillionsJames: Funny how mad people get 😂

@Michael_boyle2: Wait, is this a statement? Don’t they normally release a statement to announce that a statement would be coming later?

@nathlanding: another problem every week with this fucked club

@Russ030695: Should have started the statement with ‘Once upon a time’

@Nodderz26: Oh that’s a shame they haven’t folded yet

@Pauline04023347: What I find strange is that @AFCFylde PR team have issued this statement the day before their youngsters play a very important youth match at @ChesterFC. Not very helpful or caring of their youngsters is it?

@Darthsema: Well that’s another ground I won’t be visiting again

@Matt_At9_: I have no idea what world these lot are living in.

@SaltneyJesus: This is fucking hilarious. It truly is 🤣🤣

@Cspen7140: Once upon a time, in a far away land called the Fylde Coast, was a big patch of grass. The grass had seats by it, so some people started to play football. It became a club, run by fcukwits and morons, who lived in their very own fairy tale…

@Anthony_Ankers9: What planet is that club on? Ridiculous

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