Chorley could still yet look at taking legal action over relegation to National League North

Chorley may still yet explore the possibility of an appeal after their relegation from the National League was all but rubber-stamped this week.
Jamie Vermiglio (Photo:Stefan Willoughby)Jamie Vermiglio (Photo:Stefan Willoughby)
Jamie Vermiglio (Photo:Stefan Willoughby)

The Magpies – subject to FA Council approval – appear set to play next season in the NL North after clubs voted on proposals to use an unweighted point-per-game ratio to conclude final league placings after the campaign was brought to a premature end.

It all means that Chorley, who voted for the season to be declared null and void citing that they still had eight games left to play, will finish bottom of the table.

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Chairman Ken Wright indicated that the club would just have to take the decision ‘on the chin’ and deal with it best they can.

But boss Jamie Vermiglio said that there had been examples of clubs in a similar position in other leagues looking at legal options which may be available.

Whilst accepting that Chorley were cut adrift at the bottom of the table, Vermiglio said he was disappointed with the decision as his men have been denied the opportunity to fight for survival until the bitter end.

“We were cut adrift and the likely outcome would have been relegation,” said Vermiglio. “It’s the law of probability isn’t it?

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“Ultimately they have put us down without the opportunity to fight and scrap for our lives. I understand this is what has been done by the EFL but there’s a lot unjust about it.

“There are a lot of things happening around the world. Hearts have a case at the moment where they are fighting against points per game.

“There’s a team in Belgium and a couple of teams in France who are fighting against it. We may explore different avenues because there are some legalities with it.

“It doesn’t sit well – not just for us but other teams who may be relegated.

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“We are the only division in the entire non-league structure which has relegation in it.

People from the outside looking in may think it’s a self-centred way of looking at it but we just want fairness across the board.

“People may say, ‘Oh they are bottom of the league, how dare they even think about staying up’. But I remember playing at Northwich when we went on an eight-game unbeaten run at the end of the season. It does happen when a team does defy the odds.”