Non-League club Chester could go to the wall after Covid rule breach

Non-league football club Chester face going out of business after they were told they may have breached Welsh coronavirus rules by playing in front of crowds.

The sixth-tier club’s Swansway Chester Stadium straddles the English-Welsh border with the front gates, car park, ticket office and main office door in England but the pitch in Wales.

Sporting events in Wales are currently restricted to just 50 spectators under Covid regulations but Chester hosted crowds of 2,075 and 2,116 in National League North fixtures against AFC Fylde and AFC Telford United on December 28 and January 2 respectively.

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Chester have fallen foul of Welsh Covid regulations by hosting crowds at their stadium which straddles the border between Wales and England 

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Sporting events in Wales are presently being staged behind closed doors but Chester hosted two crowds of over 2,000 during the festive period 

No such restrictions are in place in England but the club has been informed by North Wales Police and Flintshire County Council they may have broken Welsh Government rules and may be forced to play upcoming games behind closed doors.

The club, who consider themselves English and have an English registered address, are now fearing the potential consequences and are seeking legal advice.

Chester chairman Andy Morris said: ‘As a club we rely on gate receipts. If the enforcement is we have to play behind closed doors, we are not a Welsh club so we are not entitled to the financial support.

‘The entire future of the club could be in doubt. There is no financial support for English clubs playing behind closed doors at the moment. It could be the end of the club.

‘The fact the stadium is on the border has been a quiz question for generations but, sadly, it’s a quiz question that has become a point of law rather than a novelty fact.

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Chester, who play in the sixth-tier National League North, are seeking legal advice and fear for their financial future if their games are forced behind closed doors

‘There is a bit of disbelief really that the Welsh governance is trying to impose something that is not technically clear.

‘I don’t think there is any clear jurisdiction in terms of which rules apply but we have been acting within English legislation since the stadium was built in 1992.

‘While acknowledging the border runs through the stadium, the club, for 30 years, has been treated as English with the registered address in England.

‘On a matchday, the policing around the stadium has always been Cheshire Police. Our safety certificate, fire, ambulance have always been handled by Cheshire.

‘The entry to the car park and the main entrance to the stadium is in England. We are affiliated to the English FA and throughout Covid the main grants and supports we have accessed have been through the English system.

‘It is amazing that, all of a sudden, we have found out we are Welsh.’

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The city of Chester is in England but the football club’s stadium straddles the Welsh border

Chester learned of the issue after being invited to a meeting along with representatives of North Wales Police, Flintshire County Council, Cheshire Police and Cheshire West & Chester Council.

The club said in a statement this had been brought about ‘upon direction from the Welsh Government’.

Chester, who next play at home when they host Brackley Town on January 15, are hoping the matter can be quickly resolved to avoid an expensive legal case.

Morris added: ‘We are taking legal advice but for a fan-owned club to go to war against the Welsh Government and Welsh police would be using money raised by supporters to keep the club going during Covid. We are hoping common sense does prevail.’ 

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Sporting events in Wales, such as those at Swansea’s Liberty Stadium (pictured), must be played behind closed doors under current Covid rules in the country

A joint statement from North Wales Police and Flintshire County Council read: ‘Discussions around Chester FC’s recently-played home fixtures remain ongoing between North Wales Police and our partner agencies.

‘North Wales Police and Cheshire Police, along with representatives from Flintshire County Council, are working together to review and investigate the matches played at Chester’s stadium on December 28 and January 2, following reports of Covid regulation breaches.

‘Further meetings have been arranged between North Wales Police, Cheshire Police, Flintshire County Council and Chester FC officials to discuss the situation further and we will issue an update in due course.’

Chester’s situation is the inverse of Welsh club The New Saints, who play in the Cymru Premier but whose home ground is located in the English town of Oswestry in Shropshire. 

In 2020, the stadium car park was the proposed sit of a drive-in cinema but organisers discovered they would be contravening Welsh Covid rules if they used the stadium’s toilets. 

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