Roly Hill

GREAT Western have been kicked out of the Trowbridge Football League only weeks after winning the Division Three championship in their debut season.

Corsham-based Great Western lost only one game as they won the title by ten points, but their poor disciplinary record won them few friends along the way.

And now, for the first time in the league's 100-year plus history, member clubs have voted to kick out one of their fellow teams.

League officials and management committee members abstained from the vote at the annual meeting to allow the affiliated clubs to make the decision and they decided by 17 votes to five to kick out Great Western because of their poor disciplinary record.

Manager Russell Gibbings says he is amazed his team have been thrown out, but says they have no plans to appeal.

Gibbings said: "I can't believe it, to be honest. We didn't get a rap on the knuckles, it was straight out of the league. I can understand if it was a final warning.

"It took us 18 months' hard work to get the club up and running.

"We found out two other teams, Bromham and Broughton Gifford, had the same charge as us: failing to control our players. How can you justify this when other teams have been charged with the same offences? Everyone should be treated on a level playing field."

League chairman Roly Hill said: "I've been on the league management committee for 44 years now and I've never known a club to be excluded from the league.

"Great Western players were suspended by the Wiltshire FA several times last season and they owed the FA money for each fine. These fines were still outstanding last week and the club wouldn't have been allowed to attend the annual general meeting, but they paid them in time and were allowed to attend.

"The committee decided to address the issue of Great Western's disciplinary record and that's why it was on the meeting's agenda.

"The officers of the league and the management committee abstained from voting and left the clubs to decide."

Wiltshire FA secretary Mike Benson said: "Clubs elect other clubs into the league and it's only clubs who can throw other clubs out, and the only time this can be done is at the annual general meeting.

"In this case it was the clubs' decision and for whatever reason they voted Great Western out of the league.

"Appeals are not automatic but if there are good grounds for an appeal we would grant it. There would only be an appeal if the league had acted incompetently, for example, if the management committee just threw the club out for no reason.

"Great Western have not approached me to ask for an appeal but they can come and discuss it with me."

Benson said some of Great Western's players used to play for Rudloe, a former Trowbridge and District team which also had disciplinary problems.

Benson added: "I know from Great Western's disciplinary record that there are players that played for Rudloe who then went on to play for Great Western, but I don't know how many.

"I can't discuss Great Western's disciplinary record but I can say that it was pretty appaling."

6:05am Friday 4th July 2008

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