Gateshead FC have been prevented from playing in the National League play-offs due to issues surrounding the lease of their stadium, contravening EFL rules. Gateshead Council have been unable to guarantee a deal for a minimum of ten seasons, stopping the club from progressing to League Two. An appeal has been unsuccessful, with fans heading to the Gateshead Civic Centre to protest the decision. Daniel Wales reports.
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00:00 It's just heartbreaking for the players and the management and the owners of the club
00:06 and the volunteers who've worked so hard to... and I go back five years here to haul the
00:13 club back from almost going under, being 72 hours from going under, to promoted back into
00:20 the National League, to playing in the FA Cup first and second round, to a Wembley visit,
00:24 to escaping relegation on a shoestring budget near enough, and then getting in the playoffs
00:30 and going to Wembley again next month, and to have something else that would have been,
00:35 I'd say arguably unquestionably, the biggest move in Gatehead's history to get into the
00:41 Football League is just astonishing.
00:43 The EFL confirmed their reasoning regarding preventing the club from playing and added
00:47 that an independent arbitrator had also rejected a Gatehead appeal. The club then outlined
00:52 that they are still challenging the matter, and finally the council also provided their
00:57 side of the story, with Carruthers giving his judgement on where the issues came from.
01:04 I understand to a point what they're trying to do, they are trying to bring in an external
01:12 company to run their leisure facilities, such as, you know, we had the situation with Bertley
01:17 Leisure Centre, the situation with Gatehead Leisure Centre, obviously the international
01:20 stadium is part of that, and it stems to the fact that they can't give Gatehead a solid
01:27 ten year security of tenure in the national stadium, because there is a tender process
01:32 going on for a new owner of the stadium.
01:37 As the statement said, they offered ten years with a break clause, now that would contravene
01:42 EFL regulations, which means they just couldn't accept that.
01:48 And then you look at the EFL, who, I mean there are clubs we could both name that have
01:52 ground-hopped, you know, you look at the Coventry City situation, they've played at, and I'm
01:57 not apportioning blame to Coventry City there by the way, because this is just facts, they've
02:01 played at three different grounds in about five, six seasons.
02:04 Protesting supporters of the club outside the Gatehead Civic Centre then made their
02:09 feelings clear.
02:10 It's just disgusting the way Gatehead Council's treated the club, EFL, the way they've handled
02:16 the situation.
02:18 Very worried about the long-term future of the club and the short-term future as well.
02:21 Probably the best we've ever played in a long time, right, and for the council to not say
02:26 the new lease on nothing like that is absolutely disgusting.
02:31 Finally Carothers outlined what would come next.
02:34 The club's pure focus is on that FA Trophy final, behind the scenes I know they are working
02:40 on, and I think they said in their statement that they couldn't comment further due to
02:43 legality, so there are legal processes going on which we have to adhere to as journalists
02:48 and onlookers.
02:51 So at the moment it's kind of a waiting game just to see what happens.
02:53 This is a club that is working for the community and now it's time for the community to work
02:57 for them.
02:58 [BLANK_AUDIO]