Team row puts Bristol Downs League under threat
The Bengal Tigers were kicked out of the league because of their disciplinary record at the end of last season, after a fight which saw a player on the opposing team, Retainers, seriously injured.
But the Gloucestershire Football Association, backed by the game's national ruling body, the FA, says the league did not follow the right procedure and has told league organisers to reinstate the team within 14 days or face a disciplinary committee.
Downs League officials have indicated they may resign if forced to comply with the FA ruling, triggering the collapse of the league, which celebrated its centenary earlier this year.
They say the FA ruling undermines its own respect campaign to clamp down on disciplinary problems on the pitch.
Sources told the Evening Post that as well as the potential resignation of at least two leading officials, many of the league's referees plan to boycott any matches involving the Bengal Tigers if they are reinstated.
Downs League association spokesman Mervyn Baker, from Hartcliffe, said: "It causes great anguish amongst the league. I have never known a response to a decision from on high like this."
Vice chairman of the league's committee and former Downs League referee Bill Arthur said: "There are three victims in this. The first victim is the Retainers' player who spent the night in hospital. The second victim is the Downs League players, as it could all be over next week if the committee's officers resign, and the third victim is the FA's respect campaign."
The Bengal Tigers, who play in the league's fourth division, were initially suspended after last season's incident, before the clubs which form the league voted to expel them at the end of the season.
Club secretary Syed Haque refereed the game which sparked the row and believes his club has not been fairly treated.
He admitted the Tigers player who ended up fighting was not registered to play with the team and that allowing him and another unregistered player to play was a "mistake".
Mr Haque said: "I told (the players) the game was abandoned straight away. I got kicked and called all sorts of names during that fight.
"I came back from that game to a phone call from the fixture secretary saying what had happened was diabolical, and that we were suspended for the remainder of the season (three games).
"They didn't want to hear our side of the story at all. They just kept saying we were out of the league. So we went to the GFA.
"There are always going to be physical moments in football. It shouldn't have happened, but it did. I was called racial names on the pitch that day, and that shouldn't have happened.
"What (the league) have done since is unconstitutional. It should be the people involved (in the fight) who get kicked out.
"If they don't comply with the ruling I will be taking legal action against the league. That's the only option I've got.
"My problem is we represent a community. There are no other Asian teams, and people will think Asian teams won't be allowed in if we aren't.
"The Government wants ethnic minorities to take part in the community. They want integration, not segregation, and we are being segregated."
The Evening Post spoke to a number of other club secretaries and referees who all said they had never witnessed any form of racism from the committee towards the Tigers.
One source claimed the Tigers owed money to the league, though Mr Haque insisted the team had paid the only fine it had been made aware of and was ready to pay any outstanding costs.
Gloucestershire FA chief executive Dave Neil said its decision was purely procedural and did not concern the merits of the league's dispute with the Tigers over disciplinary matters.
The GFA says the league should have published notice of the motion to expel the Tigers on the agenda of the meeting when they were expelled and conducted a ballot on the issue.
He said: "When a club appeals against a decision of the league the GFA looks at how they applied the rules, not why. The Downs League did not follow the rules in the FA handbook correctly."
Mr Neil said the committee, which would oversee any charge against the Downs League, would use its discretion regarding any potential penalty.
The Downs League is due to meet on Wednesday to consider its response.
Chairman Bob Sampson stressed that a number of clubs in the league had players from ethnic minorities, adding: "Anyone can join the league."
Comment on this story