A NON-LEAGUE football club owner says he has been “physically attacked” and received “hand-delivered death threats” from thug fans.
Farsley Celtic, who recently appointed ex-Premier League ace Neil Redfearn as boss, are in dire straits both on and off the pitch.
Farsley Celtic have been forced to play their home matches 70 miles away due to delays in resurfacing the pitch[/caption]
Owner Paul Barthorpe has claimed work on installing a new 4G pitch is close to completion[/caption]
Farlsey Celtic fans have boycotted the club’s ‘home’ games due to the issues[/caption]
The West Yorkshire outfit, who proudly boast they are the highest ranked village club in England, slipped into the National League North relegation zone after the weekend’s stalemate with Warrington Town.
But they have not played a “home” game all season due to huge delays installing artificial surface at their Throstle Nest ground and have been forced to play 70 miles away at Buxton instead.
Fans, who have boycotted matches, have accused owner Paul Barthorpe of trying to “ruin” the club and believe he is more interested in trying to sell their home stadium to housing developers.
However, he has insisted he has no plans to do that as he offered hope that the stadium work would finally get completed by the end of March.
The chief also revealed that a strict covenant exists on the land and that the stadium will not “at any point” be sold to housing developers.
In a lengthy statement, Barthorpe also opened up about the physical abuse he had received as well as claiming that irate fans had damaged his property.
He said: “People saying I don’t care, I’m destroying the club, I’m not investing in the club, I have ulterior motives which clearly could not be further from the truth!
“This has been my life for almost six years and anyone who owns a business and commits everything to it knows the unconditional love you have for it!
Farsley Celtic are currently playing their ‘home’ games at the Tarmac Silverlands stadium at Buxton[/caption]
“If my motivation was to run it into the ground I wouldn’t have kept investing to the levels I have on a weekly basis.”
Barthorpe then added: “There have been accusations of a lack of information being shared and a lack of clarity.
“The truth is I have had a number of death threats hand delivered to my home address, I have been physically attacked, I’ve had my car damaged three times, my car tyres slashed, items thrown at my house.
“And a number of other incidents that have happened directly after club posts or directly after other posts that are damaging and critical and as usual shared across multiple social media sites.
“All of this is currently under investigation and we have been therefore advised to keep our posts to a minimum, so as not to escalate these incidents.
“We are also conscious of sharing any issues or problems we may be encountering, as these get weaponised and used against us repeatedly on social media.”
Barthorpe then ended his statement by calling for all fans to unite and help them to battle relegation – but his statement was met with a fierce backlash.
A statement from the Farsley Celtic Supporters Club said: “We note the chairman’s latest statement over delays in laying a 4G pitch at the Citadel.
“To be clear: FCSC condemns in the strongest possible terms any threatening behaviour towards the chairman or any other representative of Farsley Celtic.
“Such actions, if they have occurred, have no place at a family club like Farsley.
“We look forward to seeing the results of the police investigation into the alleged incidents.
“We welcome the latest announcement of a start date for the new pitch and we hope the latest date is more accurate than previous announcements.
“We also note that once again the chairman has chosen to use the club’s media to issue self-indulgent PR spin.
“It is disappointing the chairman again seems intent on blaming everyone else, fans (again), contractors, the council, among others – for the club’s current crisis, rather than taking responsibility as chairman. Ultimately the buck stops with him.
“FCSC’s current boycott of ‘home’ games played at Buxton will continue.
“We reiterate our previous calls for Mr Barthorpe to sell the club to a more responsible owner at the earliest opportunity.
“We’d like to take the opportunity to welcome new manager Neil Redfearn to the club and we wish him well in such difficult circumstances.”
Fans will be hoping Farsley Celtic’s stadium will be back to its best and full of supporters in no time[/caption]
Former Premier League ace Neil Redfearn was announced as the new boss at the club earlier this month[/caption]
