It's a vote for 'null and void' from the Poppies

Kettering Town chairman David Mahoney has confirmed the club have voted for the National League North season to be declared null and void.

And the Poppies have also revealed that they have been charged by the National League after their scheduled home match with Chester was postponed last weekend, shortly after Kettering had confirmed that they would not play any matches while the situation remains unresolved.

National League and North and South clubs have been voting on a series of resolutions since last week to determine how the current campaign should be decided.

The voting process came about after it was confirmed that clubs would need to take out loans to keep them going for the remainder of this season while fans aren’t allowed into grounds, even though the clubs claim they were of the understanding that grants would be provided throughout the campaign - as they were for the first three months.

While the Poppies had been clear in their stance over not continuing while the voting process takes place, they were yet to confirm which way they voted until now.

It had been assumed that they did vote for the season to be declared null and void for the second year in a row and now it has been confirmed.

Mahoney said: “Yes, we have voted to null and void the season on the basis that the lack of expected funding has not been presented to the club.

“Sadly the resolutions offered were limited and we could only vote for those presented at the time.”

With a number of clubs, particularly in the National League North, stating their intention to not play and incur costs while the voting process takes place, it had been rumoured that sanctions had been placed on some teams who refused to play.

Mahoney confirmed that was the case for the Poppies for the scheduled game against Chester last Saturday, although their midweek clash with Leamington was called off due to a frozen pitch at Latimer Park following a lunchtime inspection.

When asked if there have been any threats of sanctions from the National League, the Poppies chairman added: “Yes, the club received a charge for failure to fulfil the weekend’s fixture and we await further details of when a tribunal will be held so, obviously, I have to be careful what I say.

“To be honest this felt heavy handed given the fact that we have been put in this position, through no fault of our own other than believing and trusting the messages with regards funding that were presented to the club before the season started.

“Obviously, we will defend our position and hope that common sense prevails.

“Sadly we are not the only club in this position and we want to make it clear that we support every club in the league, regardless of how they voted.”