Farsley booted out of Conference

The Football Conference have removed Farsley Celtic from Blue Square North after the club entered administration.

With all the alternative leagues' constitutions already set for the new season, it means Farsley do not have a league to play in.

The club have appealed to the Football Association (FA).

Farsley spokesman Philip Morris told BBC Radio Leeds: "There is a right to appeal and we have set up a fighting fund to fund the cost of the appeal."

Celtic were included in the Blue Square North fixtures which the Conference published on Friday at 1000 BST.

Fellow West Yorkshire club Halifax Town suffered a similar punishment last summer, when they were knocked down from the Blue Square Premier to the Unibond First Division.

However, with the fixtures already confirmed for the 2009-2010 season, Farsley cannot gain a place in that division.

At the end of the last season the FA refused to sanction the Football Conference's move to kick out Northwich Victoria from Blue Square North.

"If the FA uphold the Conference's decision, with the fixtures arranged for the next season throughout the non league pyramid Farsley Celtic basically will have no league in which to play"

Morris, who is also Farsley's solicitor, added: "There seems to a precedent set already, because Northwich Victoria entered administration at the end of last season.

"The Conference sought to exclude them too, but that decision was overturned by the FA.

"Northwich were reinstated but had to start the season on minus 10 points, so fingers crossed the FA takes a similar view.

"If the FA uphold the Conference's decision, with the fixtures arranged for the next season throughout the non-league pyramid Farsley Celtic basically will have no league in which to play."

The club have launched the '101, Still Going Strong' campaign to raise money to fund the club's appeal to the FA.

The launch coincides with the Farsley Community Festival, which will take place at Hainsworth Field on Saturday, between 1300 and 1700 BST, which is being organised by the Farsley Youth Development Project.

"The club has been in existence for 101 years and is really on the brink, so the message of the fund is one of determination - 101 Still Going Strong sends the message that we might be down at the moment, but we are not out," said Morris.

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