'Absolute disgrace': Radcliffe furious with FA ruling before Trophy trip to Hereford

Hereford at Radcliffe in August

Radcliffe joint-manager Anthony Johnson has blasted the decision to expel his side from the Manchester Premier Cup — calling it “an absolute disgrace” — just days before their FA Trophy trip to Hereford.

Reacting to Monday night’s ruling, Johnson said the sanction means Radcliffe’s young players will “miss out on a chance to play in the first team due to an incident that had nothing to do with the players”.

The Manchester FA confirmed that Radcliffe had been found proven under FA Rule E21, and that an Independent Competitions Working Group had met to apply Competition Rule 22.01 — which states that any club found guilty of an E20 or E21 misconduct charge in a Premier Cup fixture must be expelled from the competition.

The rule explicitly covers supporter behaviour, but the exact nature of the incident in Radcliffe’s case has not been disclosed.

Radcliffe said they acted “swiftly and decisively” on the night of their tie against Irlam, identifying the individuals involved and issuing immediate bans. The club later received a financial penalty and submitted a full response to the FA before being informed — at 7.31pm on Monday — that they had been removed from the competition.

The Manchester FA described the timing as “unfortunate” but said the judgement was reached “at the earliest possible opportunity following today’s notification”. The governing body has confirmed Radcliffe intend to appeal, which will be considered by its Regulations Strategy Group.

Radcliffe criticised the handling of the process, saying the late communication had caused “significant disruption” for staff, players and supporters ahead of their now-cancelled fixture against Droylsden.

Attention now turns to Saturday’s FA Trophy third-round clash at Edgar Street, where Hereford host Radcliffe. Winners will receive £4,500, with £1,250 for the losers.

Amid the off-field fallout, Radcliffe will be looking to shift focus back to football in a competition that still offers valuable prize money — and a chance to progress with National League sides entering in the fourth round.