Scunthorpe manager Andy Butler accuses Wealdstone of refusing to play on after injury

Scunthorpe manager Andy Butler accuses Wealdstone of refusing to play on after an injury to Daniel Nkrumah with the game being abandoned.

The National League fixture was was abandoned following a lengthy suspension after Stones forward Daniel Nkrumah suffered a shoulder injury.

Nkrumah had gone down following a collision in the penalty area, with Scunthorpe 2-1 up deep into added time, before being was stretchered off, and Wealdstone had used all of their substitutes.

Butler said the referee Declan Bourne, consulted PGMOL and the league, wanted the game to be resumed, but it’s claimed that Wealdstone cited player mindset concerns.

Butler also gave praise to the referee’s handling of the situation, and his own players’ professionalism (they stayed on the field), while contrasting it with a prior Eastleigh abandonment due to a serious head injury.

He expects the 2-1 result to stand, warning that replaying it would set a dangerous precedent for teams losing games.

‘Bizarre’ ending as Scunthorpe v Wealdstone gets abandoned after being suspended for 45 minutes

Andy Butler said via the club’s media: “Where do we start?! First off the referee was incredible with the way he handled the situation, so that’s why I went on a tannoy after the game and made sure that everyone knew it wasn’t a referee’s decision. The referee asked the players to return to the field he’d spoken to the PGMOL and also the league they’d said they wanted the resumption of the game so he offered it to the players. Our players were on the pitch so that’s fine. The Wealdstone players refused to return to pitch. So yeah, the game was abandoned due to refusal.”

Interviewer: “From that then, obviously we’re 2-1 up at the time. I’m presuming you expect that result to stand then, following the guidance from the league?”

Andy: “Well, I can’t see any other way it can be resumed. They were down to 10 men. If the game does proceed, the game does get rearranged, it sets a precedent. So if any team’s losing during a game, an injury, again, it wasn’t a life-threatening injury, it was a shoulder that popped out. The doctors had done an assessment, there was no spinal damage, it was a shoulder that popped out. It’s completely different to the Eastleigh game, where player safety is paramount, which it is on both occasions. I wish their player all the best. I hope he gets recovered really quickly because it’s never nice to have an injury, but there’s a slight difference in terms of a player there going off with a serious head injury to a player having a dislocated shoulder for me. And if the game does have to be played, then it sets a big precedent because who knows how we stop at games when not continuing. I have got to be mindful of what I say because obviously I don’t want to speak for them, because that’s not what my job is. My job is here to make sure I get the best result for Scunthorpe and the best result today was a deserved victory.”

Interviewer: “How frustrating were them 45 minutes before you because clearly once the players are removed from the pitch, suppose the mind on the players and yourself is ‘let’s finish this game’.”

Andy: “Oh yeah, well you saw my players, our players, never left the field once because we’ve been through adversity at times, we know that abandonments are part of the game but there’s abandonment and then there’s for me walk off the pitch and refusing come back. My players have dealt with that side of it with the head injury and they’ve been exemplary in their actions. You saw them today and I’ll try and stay away from that side of it. I thought the result today was deserved. I thought 20 minutes, it took a little bit of time to get used to their style of play. They play some expansive football and they’re all comfortable on the ball and good movement well, really good side in terms of patterns they do. We scored two very good goals, Alfie’s volley from the of box, was incredible strike, and Cal’s delivery for Danny. You know what Danny can do, score goals, so two very good goals. And again, the team performance was exactly what I wanted. Offered a lot of energy going forward and a lot of good defensive work. So, for me, that’s what I concentrate on. Making sure we do the basics well, because we get the basics right. We’ve got some players that will hurt teams. Again, a quick mention to the fans as well, because they were fantastic. I know I’ve had my issue, well. I say so on a few things, but the atmosphere again today was incredible. And that’s what I keep, I say it, I keep demanding it. I want it to be a great atmosphere for players, because when they get it right, that you can see, they grow in stature and then the display and the performance has come out of your hand with it. So yeah, that’s the only reason why I say things like that, because I want everyone on the same page.”

Interviewer: “And with that, obviously went behind early doors and that didn’t change from the fans and it didn’t change for the players either, they? Showed the character of everybody in the ground.”

Andy: “That’s the mindset, I’ll try and get into this. There’s going to be obstacles and there’s going to be things that go against us, but if we all stick together, then there’s only a positive outcome. We’ve been through tough times, further down the line, now it’s time to look forward to make sure that we do enjoy the good times because they come far and few in between, but if we get things right, then we can and will keep performing well and keeping our results.”

On reflection I have been harsh. I mean you can see the concern with the Wealdstone players looking to make a quick exit, sorry support their player with a hurty shoulder pic.twitter.com/Un4xaj0eYC

— Dan (@TheScunnyLad) September 6, 2025

Butler told BBC Radio Humberside: “Their players refused to come out. The referee wanted them to come out and the league wanted them to come out, but they refused to come out, for whatever reason.

“From discussions [they felt] the players weren’t in the right mindset after seeing a player get injured.

“I’ve never seen it twice in a row. The one at Eastleigh was completely different. Player safety is paramount. It was a head injury and I 100% agree with it.

“This wasn’t a spinal injury, it was a shoulder injury – it popped out and has popped back in now. I remember popping my shoulder on this field and walking off.

“I’m not saying the players exaggerated it. I have to be careful, but I know my players would carry on.

“My players were professional and exemplary in the way they conducted themselves to make sure they were ready for the restart of the match. I’m proud of my team.”

Butler added that the league should ensure the result stands as a 2-1 win for his side.

He said: “If it doesn’t stand, it sets a precedent further down the line for every game – if you’re not getting the result and are down to 10 men and used your substitutes, you go off and refuse to go back on the pitch. They’ve forfeited it by refusing to come out.”

Butler praised Bourne for his handling of the situation, saying: “He 100% wanted to get the game on. He had no issues but had to follow procedure.

“He had to go inside and ring the league to see what their stand on it was, ring the PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Limited) to see what their stand on it was, and they said they must return to the field.

“I wish him (Nkrumah) all the best. A shoulder injury is not nice, I’ve had one before, but the condition is different.”

Here’s how fans reacted after Scunthorpe manager Andy Butler accuses Wealdstone of refusing to play on after an injury…

@KadynSUFC: Very professional interview this. Awful president to set from Wealdstone, team full of absolute cowards. Although, wouldn’t exactly call them a team considering none of their players seemed to care too much about the injury at the time 🤷🏻‍♂️ #UTI #IRON

@BrynGosling: Class interview by butler, very professional 👏👏

@ch_endo: My head is on mars here

@Lancsiron: Be interesting to see how the @NL_Enterprise deal with this. If they don’t get it right and deal with it quickly and robustly they will have a few issues with some of the shit housing team’s in their ranks…

@si1774: So I take it all back @FA_PGMOL seems the referee did a sterling job according to @SUFCOfficial Andy Butler. Seems @WealdstoneFC didn’t want to continue and so forfeit the game. If that’s the case then I hope a big fine hits them! Cannot play those stupid games with rules.

@aidanmccartney: Abandoning a football match due to a dislocated shoulder?! Good luck to the lad in his recovery but refusing to continue the game sets a very worrying precedent and not one @NL_Enterprise should accept.

@Kyrannnn: I hope as a league you set a precedent and award Scunthorpe the points. Condolences to the player that got injured but if the ref was supposedly okay to continue there’s no reason for it not to? @NL_Enterprise

@leecross03: I believe there was still 11 minutes off the 90 mins )plus injury time )to play when the injury occurred. It was not deep into injury time as reported here.

@Ramdogg_82: As a neutral, this does set a dangerous precedent if the whole game needs to be replayed. Surely the National League need to intervene ans award Scunthorpe the win

@steveparker1978: Surely common sense would prevail & Scunny awarded the win and also Scunny & Eastleigh awarded a point each from last week. The reaction of the players while actually on the pitch shows how they felt about the incident!, really hope this sort of thing doesn’t become the norm