Dover Athletic lawyer up as their MP supports their appeal in parliament
28.04.2021
As Premier League fans consider the punishment for the European Super League interlopers, National League stragglers Dover Athletic face a five-figure fine and a decisive points deduction next season. Lillywhites boss Jim Parminter furloughed staff as COVID precautions decimated revenue this season. Although Parminter took this route to keep staff paid and protected, and keep the club out of debt, it meant Dover missed several National League fixtures.
Postponements and cancellations plagued the National League seasons, as almost every club suffered COVID outbreaks, and weather conditions damaged pitches during the winter. However, the league took punitive actions against Dover, imposing a £40,000 fine and a twelve-point deduction next season.
For context, UEFA fined Romania’s national team £40,000 in 2018 for racist abuse during a Nation’s league clash with Serbia. For many fans and supporters, such a fine dooms an already struggling club, carving revenue away from the league’s most hard-done-by. One such supporter is Dover MP Natalie Elphick, who stated that “it is simply unfair that Dover FC has been punished for not fielding a team during the Covid lockdown”.
Dover seek to prove this unfairness in an appeal hearing, to overturn or reduce the fine and the points deduction. Following Elphick’s comments, Parminter revealed that “we have appointed the Queen’s counsel to represent us at the hearing.” This legal challenge to the National League board’s decisions joins several others: following a turbulent and controversial year, several member National League clubs sponsored a still ongoing “vote of no confidence” motion against the board.
Despite the threat of fines and relegation, Dover and its supporters have not given up hope. Their manager, Andy Hessenthaler, restated his allegiance to the club, declaring that he “wasn’t going to walk away.” Fans also launched a JustGiving fundraiser, through which 159 fans raised £4,619 so far to mitigate Dover’s hefty fine.
Rallying the Dover Athletic community against the league’s sanctions, Parmenter promised that “we stand united for what is right and just and we will not be cowed.” Just weeks ago, this promise might have sounded futile. However, the football community’s role in the European Super League showed that anything is possible.
