Outgoing Manzur secretary Thomson slams GFLM

And it has led Rob Thomson, the Manzur secretary, to accuse Guernsey Football League Management of ‘appalling behaviour’ and, with it, signal his resignation.

‘I have stepped down. I have had enough,' he said.

‘This has gone on for three months. Reputationally it has been damaging to the club. It has massively derailed us.’

Meanwhile, the situation with regard to Guernsey manager Chris Tardif is unclear, although it is understood that he, too, was cleared of the original charges.

Tardif has declined to comment until after release of a potential GFA statement on the matter.

In fact, Thomson is the only person prepared to speak out at this stage, although the process dealing with the original charges officially ended on Monday of this week, although Gary Roberts, chief executive at the GFA, did say yesterday that GFLM – who have declined to comment at this stage – have followed the correct process to this point, and likewise the GFA.

As for Manzur, Thomson said that last Friday they received a letter from GFLM that said it would not be pursuing any of the cases against Manzur or Chris Tardif.

But later, via a third party, they were informed that GFLM had submitted a formal complaint of breaches of other FA rules.

Thomson cannot understand why his club appears to be back in the firing line.

He revealed that Manzur had heard two weeks ago from the GFA, who informed them that their appeal had been accepted and GFLM had misinterpreted the FA Standard Code of Rules (Scor) rules 12 and 18h and i, which they had been charged under, and hit with a £600 fine.

In outlining the original case against them, Thomson said GFLM were slow in responding to Manzur’s request to state what exactly they were supposed to have done.

‘They have continued to evade substance, context, evidence, everything.

‘I asked so many questions and just kept getting told “you missed your seven-day period of time" which we would have had to answer that in.'

Consequently an appeal hearing was held, Manzur appearing separately to Tardif, although the meetings were run back to back and three of the GFA’s top brass at on the appeal – GFA president Chris Schofield, vice-chairman Martyn Banton and GFA company secretary Robert Titterington.

‘They said they would make a decision within seven days. That came and went and they said "we need longer".

‘Two weeks ago today the GFA wrote to me to say that they had accepted the appeal and viewed that GFLM had misinterpreted on each of the accusations they had made.

‘I was pleasantly surprised to hear that.’

But in confirming that Manzur were not guilty under rules 18h and 18i, with regard to rule12c and alleged inducements, GFA were to request the GFLM to undertake a new hearing into the alleged breach, on the basis they had misinterpreted it.

‘GFLM then had 14 days to act on that [GFA] letter and that expired today (Monday 27 Sept.) and on Friday the GFLM sent me a letter that said “the GFLM can confirm it will not be pursuing any of the cases against either Manzur or Chris Tardif in relation to the breaches”.

The letter also said the GFLM would not be pursuing the option the GFA said they might be willing to still do.

Manzur’s celebratory mood was shortlived.

The club were then told that GFA had received a formal complaint from the GFLM against Manzur FC to possible breaches of separate FA rules and that they could only be investigated by the GFA.

Thomson says these other set of rules, now being quoted, are related to the top end of the professional game, not those at Guernsey’s wholly amateur level and normally covered by the FA SCOR jurisdiction.

‘This had been an absolute nightmare,’ he said.

‘This was a complaint on the back of a Rovers complaint, which is fine. I get that and they had to investigate it. They had a duty to Rovers to hear them. I get that although they were far too heavy handed and ultimately wrong, but you would have thought that was surely the end of the matter.

‘But now they have clearly decided, off their own back, to go and find something else.’

In informing the GFLM of his decision to resign, Thomson wrote: ‘The GFLM conduct throughout this process which started on 30 June has been nothing short of appalling and you have evaded multiple requests for clarity, hidden behind what has already been established to be inadequate rules, sat on your heels for lengthy periods of time which have subsequently manifested the situation which I simply cannot bear to go through again.’

Thomson said he is confident he could win another appeal but no longer has the energy.

‘I’m a volunteer. I kind of fell into this role as a mate of Mark Romeril.

‘I have told the GFLM that as a result of this local football has lost a willing and very dedicated administrator, which I am.'