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The following statement was released by Grays Athletic last night.
The board has responded to public speculation in order to clarify matters regarding the situation at a fellow football club
The board has responded to public speculation in order to clarify matters regarding the situation at a fellow football club
There is public speculation that the Football Association (The FA) is investigating our Chief Executive Joel Nathan regarding his involvement with Hereford United Football Club. We can clarify there has thus far been no contact from The FA regarding this matter. The board is fully aware that Joel Nathan has offered advice to a fellow football club that, like Grays Athletic, has dropped from the football conference to a lower tier of English football.
There is further public speculation regarding threatened demonstrations at our friendly match being played at Hereford United in July and intimidatory posts against our supporters on public forums regarding their attendance at that match. We recognise the right of individuals to protest but our club is not related in any way to the current financial situation at Hereford United and we believe our supporters should not be intimidated in any way. We have offered our supporters free travel on our team coach as a thank you gesture for the numerous times the supporters paid for our team to travel to away fixtures last season. We have spoken to Cardiff City and if they are happy to play there, we are happy to play there.
Joel Nathan has made himself available in public forums to answer questions posed by concerned Hereford United fans. Mr.Nathan has since been banned by the administrators of those forums while Hereford United fans have joined Grays Athletic supporters forums to criticise Mr.Nathan. Mr. Nathan is a football fan as well as a club official and has specific experience in dealing with the situation Hereford United finds itself in and is happy to offer his advice in helping that club, and he is also available to supporters with genuine concerns and wish to ask him questions. We would politely suggest that those public forum bans be lifted so that Mr.Nathan can respond to any queries from supporters.
We would also like to place on record our sympathy and empathy towards Hereford United, a football club with a fine history and tradition that now finds itself in a situation we ourselves went through just a few years ago. We wish the club and it's supporters the best of luck and a swift return to the higher levels of English football.
Grays Athletic have also issued a statement about the proposed friendly set to take place on July 19th.
There is further public speculation regarding threatened demonstrations at our friendly match being played at Hereford United in July and intimidatory posts against our supporters on public forums regarding their attendance at that match. We recognise the right of individuals to protest but our club is not related in any way to the current financial situation at Hereford United and we believe our supporters should not be intimidated in any way. We have offered our supporters free travel on our team coach as a thank you gesture for the numerous times the supporters paid for our team to travel to away fixtures last season. We have spoken to Cardiff City and if they are happy to play there, we are happy to play there.
Joel Nathan has made himself available in public forums to answer questions posed by concerned Hereford United fans. Mr.Nathan has since been banned by the administrators of those forums while Hereford United fans have joined Grays Athletic supporters forums to criticise Mr.Nathan. Mr. Nathan is a football fan as well as a club official and has specific experience in dealing with the situation Hereford United finds itself in and is happy to offer his advice in helping that club, and he is also available to supporters with genuine concerns and wish to ask him questions. We would politely suggest that those public forum bans be lifted so that Mr.Nathan can respond to any queries from supporters.
We would also like to place on record our sympathy and empathy towards Hereford United, a football club with a fine history and tradition that now finds itself in a situation we ourselves went through just a few years ago. We wish the club and it's supporters the best of luck and a swift return to the higher levels of English football.
Grays Athletic have also issued a statement about the proposed friendly set to take place on July 19th.
Hereford United Friendly
The club has agreed to travel to Hereford United on Saturday 19th July and as it stands this match is expected to go ahead as planned
The club is committed to fulfilling this fixture which is to be played one week after league club Cardiff City visit Edgar Road for a pre-season game.
The club has made seats on the team coach available to our supporters free of charge on a first come, first served basis but we fully understand if supporters do not wish to travel to this game. There has been a number of intimidatory and abusive posts in public forums regarding our supporters and club officials which we take very seriously and the relevant details have been passed to the appropriate authorities in Hereford.
We have accepted this friendly in good faith and for footballing reasons as it represents an opportunity for new manager Jody Brown to give his new charges a challenging run-out just weeks before the start of the new season.
The club reiterates it's desire to fulfil this fixture unless the Football Association decides otherwise. If Cardiff City visits Edgar Road as scheduled, we will fulfil our commitment to Hereford United one week later.
The club has made seats on the team coach available to our supporters free of charge on a first come, first served basis but we fully understand if supporters do not wish to travel to this game. There has been a number of intimidatory and abusive posts in public forums regarding our supporters and club officials which we take very seriously and the relevant details have been passed to the appropriate authorities in Hereford.
We have accepted this friendly in good faith and for footballing reasons as it represents an opportunity for new manager Jody Brown to give his new charges a challenging run-out just weeks before the start of the new season.
The club reiterates it's desire to fulfil this fixture unless the Football Association decides otherwise. If Cardiff City visits Edgar Road as scheduled, we will fulfil our commitment to Hereford United one week later.
