Statement from David Johnston, chief executive officer, Darlington FC

I have today been given a report of the anti-social conduct of a small number of our supporters in the away game at Farsley on Tuesday.

I must admit, that I am sick and tired of this continuing misconduct, which has resulted in the match referee reporting us to the FA, who in turn contacted us for our observations on Wednesday afternoon. We had a big issue at Scarborough in January, and after that incident, we requested spectators to be on their best behaviour at all Darlington matches, home and away.

This obviously hasn’t sunk in with some people. When fans travel away from home to watch the team, they are representing the club, and any misbehaviour reflects badly on the club. Not only were there two incidents on the pitch, we have also been informed of an incident in the Farsley clubhouse before the game, amongst others. We have also been advised that there have been other incidents at recent away games, that have fortunately not resulted in formal action.

The vast majority of our supporters are responsible, fair-minded people, and we are grateful for several eyewitness accounts of the incidents that we have received since the game on Tuesday night. We’re getting very close to identifying the person who ran on to the pitch, and when we have done so, that individual will be asked to explain his behaviour.

We have been charged by the FA for failing to control our supporters once already for the Scarborough incident, there is the likelihood that we will now be facing another charge with an equally severe punishment, if not worse. If we are fined, as looks likely, the money will come out of club funds which obviously impacts our future spending on players wages and fees. This idiotic behaviour has a direct impact on our playing budget, and it must stop now.

We are pushing so hard to do the right things, build the infrastructure both on and off the field and we are obviously pushing for promotion. We will need every pound of income possible should we get promoted, until we have our own facility generating revenue streams. The timing on this is slightly delayed which could mean potentially another season’s delay in getting our own ground. Naturally this means finances will remain tight for a further period and as such we will need deeper financial support from the fans and corporate sponsorship to see us through.

This misconduct cannot continue, it is damaging the club that we all love and work so hard for. It is causing many hours of work for senior club officials who should be doing other things, it is causing harm to our standing within the community, and it sends out all the wrong signals. We are trying to attract long term sponsorship with local businesses and idiotic and reckless behaviour does not support our cause.

We have already issued a ban to a fan for his misogynistic behaviour at Scarborough, we will not hesitate to issue more bans for this Farsley incident and any other incidents that come to light.

The club must take a firm stand on this, and we are certain that all of our responsible fans will support us. Please report any misbehaviour that you witness at our matches to the club and we will take immediate action to deal with any individuals concerned. You can e mail the club on ray.simpson@darlingtonfc.org

Thank-you for your support.

David