Why it's 'as you were' for Bognor, Chichester, Pagham, Selsey, Midhurst and Bosham's football teams

League bosses at non-league steps three and below have decided terminating the season now is the best response to the coronavirus crisis.

A decision is awaited on whether the season is simply written off or whether final placings are worked out on a points per game basis.

Whichever option is implemented, it will not affect Bognor, Chichester City, Pagham, Selsey, Midhurst or Bosham.

All will be in the same Isthmian and SCFL divisions in 2020-21 as they have been in 2019-20 as none was going into the final stages of the season in promotion or relegation places.

Many Sussex sides – most notably Worthing and Hastings – will be sweating on whether their efforts to get into promotion places will count for nothing if all games already played are declared null and void.

Bognor and Chichester were both in the running for play-off spots in the Isthmian premier and south-east divisions respectively but surely won't feel short-changed if the current tables become final ones, and will have another go next year.

Pagham, meanwhile, will be happy to have climbed away from the SCFL premier relegation zone with a fine run of form under new boss Kerry Hardwell.

Bognor manager, FA Council member and National League board member Jack Pearce said there was no option that would suit everyone.

“A lot of the leagues have come to the conclusion that it is best to terminate the season,” he said.

“The country is in a major crisis and normal rules go out of the window.”

Pearce said the Rocks were in complete shutdown and would have to cope with the lack of income the best they could.

He said in the past seven weeks, when they had paid out the full wage bill, they’d had only one Saturday home game and one midweek home fixture to make money from – and that added up to significant losses.

But he said it was the same for all clubs, and he was at least glad Bognor’s good housekeeping meant they had some reserves to fall back on.

The decision to terminate league seasons at step three (Isthmian premier) and below followed video conferences between FA and league officials on Monday and Tuesday.

Bosses at the Isthmian League and the SCFL sent messages to all clubs outlining the decisions made and asking them to wait for further updates.

The Isthmian League said: “The step three and four leagues share clubs’ frustration that it is taking so long to determine whether the 2019-20 season is to end now, and if so on what basis.

“To maintain the integrity of our competitions, we ideally need to apply one solution across the whole of the National League System. However, this may not be possible.

“The Isthmian, Northern Premier and Southern Leagues are unanimous in wanting to terminate the 2019-20 season immediately. The step five/six leagues also support the immediate termination of the season.

“Whether that is done on the basis of determining final placings via average points per game, or the season is declared null & void cannot be determined until the National League decides how it wishes to proceed.”

The SCFL, whose premier and first divisions are at step five and six, issued similar words. Chairman Steve Nealgrove said: “From the step five and six leagues and at step three and four there was no clear mandate upon how to complete the season.

“There is roughly a 50-50 split between those wanting to expunge the season and those wanting to apply the points per game to the league table.

“The FA want to make a global and consistent ruling which applies across the NLS and have taken the feedback away to help make their decision. No clear timescale exists for that decision, but the FA are aware that clubs and leagues need a decision ASAP.”

Get the very latest on the leagues on this website throughout the week

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