Club statement: Trophy Presentation

On Friday 24th July, the club were presented the National League South trophy and medals in an event scheduled by the National League. The timing of this event was dictated by the need for the footage of this to be available to BT Sport as part of their play off final coverage next week.

Once the date of the event was confirmed, the club set about putting in place plans to allow as many fans as possible to attend within the current COVID-19 guidelines. Unfortunately as we progressed these discussions with the National League and Hillingdon Council, it was made clear that only 30 people could attend this event including players and officials.

We were also advised not to publicise the event so as to avoid supporters attending, these same restrictions were applied to Kings Lynn and Barrow.

It is clear from the footage that a small number of supporters who were at the ground that afternoon were permitted to attend the event. This decision was made by those in charge on the day and we believed this was the right approach in the circumstances. The fact that some supporters were present when the wider loyal fan base was unable to experience this great moment has clearly caused some disappointment and anger amongst some supporters. In hindsight, this is fully understandable.

The club is committed to running an event to re-present the trophy and medals to players and officials at a time we can safely include all our supporters to allow them to share in this success. We appreciate that this is not as satisfying as being there when the trophy is first presented, however our hands were tied and no decisions made on the day were intended to upset the clubs fans.

The contribution and loyalty of supporters old and new has played a huge part in the success of the club and this is never taken for granted by the board. Together we have taken this club back into the National League and if we are to establish ourselves and thrive at this level we will need our supporters to play their part more than ever.

The board apologises for any offence caused.