Clitheroe make FC United donation

Source: Lancashire Telegraph

By Gary York

CLITHEROE chairman Carl Garner has revealed that a "substantial donation" has been made to FC United of Manchester after Tuesday night's match was abandoned due to floodlight failure.

The UniBond League Division One North game at Shawbridge was plunged into semi-darkness before the hour mark - with the teams locked at 1-1 - following a fuse problem.

Failure of the floodlights led to 950 supporters vacating the ground, and the match was abandoned by the referee once it became clear that local utilities could not promptly repair the fuse.

UniBond League chiefs are now re-arranging the fixture, with a date soon to be confirmed.

But after a board meeting yesterday, Clitheroe have decided upon a "goodwill gesture" by making a donation towards FC United's Development Fund.

Furthermore, admission prices for the re-arranged fixture will be reduced and match programmes free.

"We've reached an agreement with FC United whereby we've made a substantial donation to their Development Fund from the proceeds of Tuesday's game," said Garner.

"We agreed that it was morally right to make a donation to FC United and they are happy with our goodwill gesture."

The Blues chairman revealed that the fuse was not fixed until 10.50pm.

He said: "The circumstances were beyond our control. A fuse had overheated that caused some of the bulbs to go on some of the lights.

"The last thing we needed was a problem like this. In fact, we were gutted. We had FC United on the ropes and we looked as though we could have won our first game of the season."