Dulwich Hamlet have lost an appeal against their punishment for failing to fulfil fixtures – and ordered to pay the costs incurred by the appeal board.
The Hamlet were fined £8,000 – £2,000 per match missed – in March and hit with an eight-point deduction, though the latter was suspended.
Dulwich have now been ordered to pay an additional £1,600 within 30 days of the decision by the four-man appeal board. They also had to pay a £250 appeal fee.
In February, the club was charged with breaching 8.39 of the National League rules for failing to fulfil fixtures.
At the time, chairman Ben Clasper told the News he and the club’s board would not build up debt by playing games with no gate income.
The three leagues at National League level were suspended after the third lockdown in January before a majority of clubs voted the following month to void the seasons.
In the published decision, it was revealed that the Hamlet had just £836.55 in their account and the club said the “excessive” fine “will bring about insolvency”.
The Hamlet reacted to the decision by tweeting: “Great when the @TheVanaramaNL and @FA fine you for not playing during a global pandemic.
“Really makes you passionate about the game and who runs it.”
Read the full decision of the appeal board here.