Pitching In Southern Football League Premier Division Central club AFC Rushden & Diamonds are through to the next round of the Buildbase FA Trophy by default.
Their scheduled opponents, Northern Premier League Division One South East side Ilkeston Town, have decided not to go ahead with playing their game with Diamonds at Hayden Road this weekend.
It follows a confirmed positive COVID-19 test in the Diamonds squad, and Ilkeston say they do not feel satisfied that their players’ health and safety would be sufficiently protected.
A statement from Ilkeston reads: “On Tuesday of this week, AFC Rushden & Diamonds issued a club statement confirming a positive COVID case within their first-team playing squad. The player concerned was actively participating in a training session less than 24 hours before the test had taken place.
“Since this time, other players within their squad have reported feeling unwell and their midweek fixture was postponed due to the potential seriousness of the outbreak. Although government guidance for football Steps 3-6 differs from everyday life, we have not been satisfied that our hosts’ circumstances have changed significantly, and Saturday would only equate to eight days of an incubation period for the virus, not the 14 days the government actually suggest it could take for any symptoms to appear.
“In life away from football, exposure to the virus would result in self isolation for 14 days, and with our duty to protect our staff, players, supporters and whole community from the spread of the killer virus, we have taken the difficult decision to not participate in the fixture on Saturday. This difficult decision has been made purely on health and safety grounds and has potentially cost the club financially and our place in the competition”.
Most clubs are looking for volunteers. Find out more on the button below:
www.PitchingInVolunteers.co.ukAll the news and results in one place.
REGISTER