The unofficial AFC Rushden & Diamonds messageboard

Just 125 signatures required to reach 3000 on the petition.

The Non League Paper in their editorial has today come out in support of club.

Has anyone seen any mention of support for the Southern Leagues decision.?

I think the current score is 3000- nil

This must surely go down as the greatest "own goal" ever.

I did hear yesterday it may take some weeks before the FA make a ruling, in which case we will be running up a fines bill of close to £500 before this is resolved, and that's just assuming £50 per game, they could of course increase the fine for each subsequent offence.!!!

Sid wrote:Is it really anything to do with the ref?
His job is to uphold the laws of the game. Not the petty rules of the SL.

He has a duty to report any misconduct relating to the game, so if we've either played a different shirt number to that submitted on the teamsheet, or specified an 'illegal' number on the teamsheet then he should report it. To be fair to him, I wouldn't blame the ref for reporting it, as if the league noticed and he didn't report anything then he'd also be in trouble.

sussexdiamond wrote:I did hear yesterday it may take some weeks before the FA make a ruling, in which case we will be running up a fines bill of close to £500 before this is resolved, and that's just assuming £50 per game, they could of course increase the fine for each subsequent offence.!!!

It depends on what it says in the fines tariff (which I've searched for and can't find). Some fines will be fixed, some are specified as minimums and some as maximums. I would suspect this would be a fixed £50 fine.

They'll probably make up a fine as we go along - I still can't believe that a committee of adults and supposedly intelligent individuals sat around a table to discuss this and still came to this decision!! They should be ashamed and reading the news article where Dale's parents state how upsetting it is should have them cringing in embarrassment.

A truly shocking and incompetent judgement which beggars belief !! Doesn't bode well for when they have to make some important decisions/judgements later on does it? :roll:

sussexdiamond wrote:
Has anyone seen any mention of support for the Southern Leagues decision.?

A few on the NLM, as predicted by Everyweeker, saying the 'rules are the rules' and even one who said 'it's always reformed clubs who kick up a fuss over nothing' and all RDFC numbers were retired and Dale has never played for AFCRD!

Trek wrote:

sussexdiamond wrote:
Has anyone seen any mention of support for the Southern Leagues decision.?

A few on the NLM, as predicted by Everyweeker, saying the 'rules are the rules' and even one who said 'it's always reformed clubs who kick up a fuss over nothing' and all RDFC numbers were retired and Dale has never played for AFCRD!

Some people just don't get it do they, sadly my dad doesn't seem to get it either even though he's a Diamonds fan :roll:

It is surely the SL who are the ones kicking up a fuss over nothing, to them it's just a number, but to us it's so much more than that.

A recent message on the petition:-

Isabel Roberts United Kingdom, Sunderland Aug 10, 2015

Would like to thank all those who support Rushden and our family for the kind messages and signatures these really mean a lot to George and myself if they take our Dales shirt. We will still have his memories thank you Isabel xxx

I just had a thought about this.

If you travel through France or Germany, as yo get to the outskirts of a town, there's a town name sign.. Hildesheim or Reutlingen or Cavalaire-sur-mer or whatever. As you leave the town, you see an identical sign, but with a red diagonal line through it.

If we lose the appeal to the FA (and I bet those two-faced bastards who let West Ham and Man City retire numbers WILL turn it down) why don't we give our first team goalie the number one, but with a red diagonal line through it - so he would have 1 on his shirt, but it would be crossed out? Wouldn't that be saying something?

Seems as though the appeal will be heard next Wednesday.

Technically, and probably legally, we have broken a rule so the FA may have to uphold that? but hopefully the FA will tell SL to just give us a nominal fine (£1 per game) and then the clubs themselves will have to vote at the next AGM on a rule change giving the SL some discretion in such matters in the future.

Or of course the FA will just tell the SL not to be so stupid and to reconsider!!

Red Dragon wrote:I just had a thought about this.

If you travel through France or Germany, as yo get to the outskirts of a town, there's a town name sign.. Hildesheim or Reutlingen or Cavalaire-sur-mer or whatever. As you leave the town, you see an identical sign, but with a red diagonal line through it.

If we lose the appeal to the FA (and I bet those two-faced bastards who let West Ham and Man City retire numbers WILL turn it down) why don't we give our first team goalie the number one, but with a red diagonal line through it - so he would have 1 on his shirt, but it would be crossed out? Wouldn't that be saying something?

That wouldn't be breaking any rule surely?? I do however expect the decision to go our way next Wednesday. I also hope they decide to either reimburse the fines or donate them to a mental illness charity.