AFC Fylde rivals refusing to play could face sanctions but not yet

Each postponed fixture will then be considered individually by an independent panel, who will decide on any punishment.

Clubs in the Vanarama National League, NL North and NL South are voting on whether to scrap their season and declare it null and void amid a dispute over funding for the rest of the campaign.

The league has instructed all 66 clubs in the three divisions to continue playing matches until the outcome of the voting is known but many are not prepared to do so.

Fylde’s division, National League North, resumed on February 6 after a two-week suspension, though only two of the 32 fixtures scheduled over the past nine days have actually gone ahead.

Some have fallen victim to frozen pitches but many postponements have been the result of one or both teams not being prepared to play under the circumstances.

The Coasters’ last two Saturday fixtures, against Guiseley and Gateshead, have been called off because their opponents were unwilling to play. Last Tuesday’s match at Chester fell foul of the weather.

Many clubs have been questioning what sanctions, if any, await those who are defying the instruction to play on, and the league has issued a statement to the media clarifying the position.

It reads: “Many things have been written regarding charges recently raised in connection for non-fulfilment of fixtures under league rules. It may be helpful to explain that this process is merely a mechanism for the league to deal with each of the occasions for non-fulfilment.

“No fines or sanctions have been raised or recommended and this will be considered at the next stage.

“An independent panel will be appointed to hear each case and it will be at this stage the issue of ‘just cause’ as outlined in the rule will be objectively assessed in each case based on the evidence before them.

“In the interest of fairness of all parties, the cases will not be heard until such time as the outcome of the resolutions are known.

“It is important that the framework in place is followed in a consistent manner in all cases and clubs are able to make their representations appropriately and fairly.

“The league will not make any comment during the process on individual cases in fairness to all clubs but will issue the outcomes and reasons for the decisions following their conclusions. Should clubs remain unsatisfied with the outcome they will also all have the opportunity to appeal the decision directly to The Football Association which will be heard by a further independent panel in line with FA rules and regulations.”

The vote on whether to nullify the season was called on February 1 and under league rules clubs have the whole of this month to cast their votes.

However, with clubs being urged to vote promptly it was widely hoped that the outcome would be known much earlier, with Fylde owner David Haythornthwaite expecting the decision to take no more than a week. But two weeks into the vote, the results of the voting on its four resolutions are still unknown.

The league is keen for clubs to play in the interim in order to reduce the fixture backlog should the clubs vote to complete the season.

Fylde, who have not played for more than five weeks, still have two thirds of their fixtures to play in a season scheduled to end in late May.

Both fixtures played in NL North since the resumption have featured Chorley, who drew with leaders Gloucester City on Saturday.

That result extends Gloucester’s lead over third-placed Fylde to eight points, though they have played four more matches.

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