Youth football club ordered to pay £3,000 compensation after the father of a 10-year-old boy accused them ’emotional abuse and racism’ when they subbed his son
- A father sued Winnersh Rangers after his 10-year-old son was substituted
- Father claimed the subbing constituted ’emotional abuse’ and ‘racism’
- A county court ordered the Reading-based club to pay £3,000 compensation
- The club completely deny wrongdoing and say they weren’t told of court case
A youth football club has been ordered to pay £3,000 compensation to the family of a 10-year-old player after his father said subbing him was ’emotional abuse’ and ‘racism’.
The father took Berkshire-based Winnersh Rangers to a county court after his son’s coach took the boy off the pitch during a pre-season football tournament in summer 2018.
The club says they weren’t informed of the court case so didn’t attend and were stunned when they were told they would have to pay damages.
Bosses there say they are baffled by the decision and are trying to have it overturned.
A manager described the boy’s father a ‘a passionate parent thinking he was doing the right thing, but losing sight that we are here for the children’.
Winnersh Rangers has been fined £3,000 after the father of a 10-year-old player accused it of ’emotional abuse’ and ‘racism’ by substituting him. Players from one of the club’s teams are pictured in a huddle
Club secretary Phil Chick said: ‘The player in question played with us for about two seasons.
‘Last summer the Under 10s teams played in a pre-season tournament and the manager substituted this particular player.
‘His father didn’t take well to the decision, but substitutions are just a part of the game and the manager wanted to give everyone a fair chance and even playing time.
‘The parent then brought the player back to the club at the start of the new season in September but quickly removed him and asked to be refunded for his signing-on-fee, which of course we refunded.
The club denies the claims made by the father and said it did not attend the county court hearing because it didn’t know about it. The club’s secretary Phil Chick is pictured
‘We were told he contacted Wokingham Borough Council’s child protection scheme and accused the substitution of being emotional abuse and racism.
‘We didn’t hear anything else for a few months but then we received a letter from Reading County Court saying we had missed a hearing and had been fined £3,000.’
Mr Chick, who is also the club secretary, added the club were ‘disappointed’ to lose the player and would struggle to cover the cost of damages awarded by court.
He said it will take volunteers around 18 months to raise the money again.
It is used for equipment, football nets and to pay for teams to enter leagues and cup competitions.
Mr Chick added: ‘Losing thousands of pounds is a big hit for a local club like ours.
‘The most important thing for us as a club is the children, we want them to enjoy playing football. If they are a good player that is purely a bonus for us.’
Winnersh Rangers FC – a not-for-profit football club funded by volunteers – runs several teams from Under7s up to a senior mens’ team.
The club said it conducted two investigations alongside Berkshire FA, which cleared it of any offences. It plays its games at Winnersh Community Centre, pictured
Mr Chick said: ‘I’m confident we can challenge the ruling in court and get our money back.
‘So far we haven’t seen any documentation so we don’t know the full facts of the allegations.
‘All we know is that the parent has accused the club of emotional abuse and racism against his son.
‘It’s a shame because it feels like the child has been forgotten in all of this, he can no longer play football for his local team because of this.’
The club will challenge the ruling at Reading County Court on May 2.
Berkshire and Buckinghamshire FA said: ‘We are aware that the club are due to be speaking with the court about this next month and so, until the situation is resolved we will not be making any comment.’