FA should have followed their own rules, says Evesham chairman Jim Cockerton

VICTORIOUS Evesham United believe the mid-summer madness that has blighted the close season would have been easily avoided if the Football Association had followed their own rule book from the beginning.

The basis of the club’s appeal again relocation to the Evo-Stik NPL South from the Southern League South & West came after club secretary Roger Westmacott closely studied the league handbook.

It states that the “winners of the league will be promoted” – and the Football Association appeals panel agreed with them that, by allowing Cinderford to reject a place in Step 3, the Leagues Committee hadn’t followed the letter of their own law.

Chairman Jim Cockerton labelled Cinderford “cheats” for rejecting promotion a month after winning the title.

He said their decision was motivated by Hereford’s promotion into Step 4 – and a £15,000 windfall a derby game with the well-backed Bulls would bring in.

Cinderford have been told they must play in Step 3 despite not wanting to, a “victory for football and for common sense” say a thrilled Evesham.

Cockerton said the lateral movement would have cost his club in excess of £25,000 and believes justice has been served after the FA came down on their side.

He said: “There was no way we were going to ever win the appeal without something to back us up.

Ethics

“Yes the cost to us was massive, yes Cinderford should have gone up but I don’t think we would have won an appeal on those grounds. We needed what we found and we used it.

“The league’s rules state that league champions will be promoted. ‘Will’ is the word – no ‘should be’, not ‘can be’, but ‘will be’.

“Our secretary discovered it and said the wording in no way leaves it open to interpretation. I told him that I’ve had school teachers like him before!

“They didn’t stick to the rules by letting Cinderford pick and choose what they wanted to do, so we acted. We had to think of our club and the trouble moving from this league would bring us. We’ve been a Southern League side for 24 years, and shouldn’t have to leave.

“Common sense had to prevail and it’s great news that it has. There is every chance that if our appeal was thrown out we would have had to refuse to go north. If that was the case, who knows where it would have left the club.

“The indication was that there was no compensation coming our way. We would have lost derby games and our home crowds would have taken a massive hit. We would have been in huge trouble but justice, as they say, has been done.”

On Cinderford, who rejected promotion for what they claim was financial reasons, Cockerton said: “It’s not ideal for them, I respect that. But they’ve only got themselves to blame really.

“It goes against football ethics to turn your back on promotion after winning the league like they did so well.”