Walsall Wood had to ban youngsters after incidents

Chief defends ruling on U16s

By Andy Mitchell

THE chairman of a Step 5 club which has banned unaccompanied under-16s from its matches insists a cluster of troublesome youngsters left them with no choice.

Walsall Wood, of the Midland Football League Premier Division, announced the measure last week in the wake of ongoing problems with 20-30 youngsters with an estimated age range of 13-18.

Chairman George Evangelou revealed the Wood had been fined a combined total of “a few hundred” pounds due to “quite a few incidents” relating to the conduct of the group.

He said the youngsters had initially all been granted free admission as part of a community initiative to keep them entertained and bolster support but despite “numerous chances” to adhere to behaviour standards over “a couple of seasons”, the goodwill of club officials and supporters has been stretched to breaking point.

In an effort to separate genuine supporters from troublesome individuals, a £1 admission fee was implemented but that led to children climbing over fences and walls to avoid paying.

The latest measure is an attempt to disperse the problem by insisting on under-16s attending with an adult and charging full adult price to those 16 and older but despite a police presence, fans still encroached onto the pitch during Tuesday night’s 1-1 draw with Worcester City.

Headache

Evangelou confirmed those involved would be banned outright, although stopping them from getting in remains a tricky matter.

“Some climbed over, we clocked it and kicked them out but they climbed over again,” he said. “Most of them had paid £6 to get in which was a bit of a shock. I am just hoping they now realise they are not welcome, it is causing us a big headache and makes you not want to go to the game.

GATES CLOSED: Walsall Wood FC

“We have people stewarding certain corners of the ground but stopping it is a challenge. We cannot afford higher fencing all the way round.

“A part of it is down to a lack of volunteers as well. A few people are disgruntled by the situation but unfortunately we only have a few of us trying to do everything and we try our best. We had police there and they were still playing up.”

The only exception to the under-16s rule will be for children who play for Walsall Wood’s youth teams despite a mixed response to the news.

Evangelou added: “I think it is the right thing but it will hurt some innocent people and that is a shame.”