Angry South Shields FC owner says club will 'seek appeal or take legal action' after promotion hopes dashed

Mariners Park, the home of South Shields FC.

The FA and Leagues at Steps 3 to 6 of the non-league pyramid have reached the hugely controversial decision to end the 2019-20 season with immediate effect with all results expunged. It comes after all football was suspended as a result of the coronavirus crisis.

Shields are top of the BetVictor Premier Division table and lead nearest rivals FC United of Manchester by 12 points but their promotion hopes are now in tatters following the controversial decision.

Posting on Twitter, Thompson wrote: “SSFC will be writing to the FA in the strongest possible terms and will seek an appeal or will take legal action. Whatever the outcome following this appalling decision the club will continue as before.

“However there is no denying this decision has a huge financial impact we have invested heavily this year in a host of areas and the loss of promotion will also affect some of our revenue assumptions for next season.

“My message to all our SSFC fans and sponsors is - sorry a huge disappointment and we’ve all been badly let down.”

The FA statement read: “The NLS and the women’s football pyramid were able to build a consensus amongst their leagues and, where possible, aimed to create a consistent approach across all leagues, whilst taking into account the unique characteristics of each individual league.

“As a result, The FA and NLS steps three to six have reached a consensus that their 2019-20 season will now be brought to an end, and all results will be expunged. This will mean no promotion or relegation of clubs between NLS steps three to six, and no promotion to NLS step two.

“These decisions will also apply to the leagues and clubs who play at NLS step seven.

“We will continue to assist and support the National League (NLS steps one and two) to determine the outcome of its 2019-20 season as quickly as possible. The planned implementation of the restructure of the NLS will also now be deferred until the start of the 2021-22 season.”