Covid protocol breach at recent opponents Cefn Druids - RedPassion.co.uk

Rob · 12th September 2020, 10.02:29

FAW statement this morning https://www.faw.cymru/en/news/jd-cym...en/news/&pos=1 : "The Football Association of Wales has today (12 September) taken the decision to postpone the JD Cymru Premier fixture between Haverfordwest County and Cefn Druids, following a breach of the ‘Safer Return to Play Protocol’ by Cefn Druids.

The primary aim of the ‘Safer Return to Play Protocol’ guidelines is to protect the health and safety of all persons involved in Cymru Premier fixtures.

They must be followed to ensure that matches can take place safely during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Cefn Druids have been reminded of their duties and obligations to the JD Cymru Premier and the safe return of football in Wales."

Lots doing the rounds in the last 24 hours on it - we played them on the 8th - is there any impact ?

Rob · 13th September 2020, 21.55:12

Think there is good news in this quite long statement in terms of if it affects us.

I would like to firstly thank everyone for their overwhelming show of support. Despite not knowing all the facts, you have stood firm and backed us waiting for the truth to come out.

The alleged “breach” has nothing to do with our COVID compliance as a club, has no effect on the stadium and does not endanger the players, fans, staff, volunteers or anyone associated with the academy including players, coaches and parents.

We, as a club, have passed all the Phases outlined by the Welsh Government with flying colours. We have not only implemented the FAW guidelines but also taken guidance from Public Health Wales to ensure the safety of everyone that visits and works at the football club.

We are extremely disappointed that the League and FAW published their statement without knowing all the facts and the media failed to extend the decency of the right to reply. Their statement was widely reported on and made national coverage on TV and social media, unfairly portraying Cefn Druids and damaging our reputation and undermining the excellent work done by all the members of staff, players, volunteers, sponsors and fans. The severity of the situation is such that we have a meeting with our local MP this week and we are in contact with a Government Minister who has a keen interest in this matter.

The issue that has caused the alleged “breach” has nothing to do with us but is a fault within the reporting system implemented by the League. We just so happened to discover it and tell them about it, and they shot the messenger.

Not trusting the League to fix the issue, the club implemented its own reporting system, based on a Public Health Wales template, to run alongside the Leagues system and embedded it as part of our own COVID compliance protocol. The club notified the relevant people 24 hours after the start of the preseason of a fault in their reporting system. It took a further 7 days for the reporting system personnel to respond.

At 9.30pm September 11th we were asked a question, based on the faulty reporting system, that we could not answer. A simple question that no club in the league can answer honestly as they do not and will not have the information unless they have their own reporting system.

The League then requested that we provide our own unofficial internal reporting system as evidence. We drove to the club and emailed it, and they decided that it wasn’t good enough and at 11.55pm I received the call postponing the game.

I personally feel that the club has been unfairly treated and made to look incompetent and made an example of, nationally. Yet again, the failure of others sees this wonderful club made to look poorly in the eyes of the footballing world when the facts are that someone else dropped the ball and is using us to cover up their mistake. We could have lied and put the lives of people at risk, but we didn’t and we did all we could to support the League and in return it turned on us in the most appalling manner.

In the words of a previous Druids Chairman “Roles and responsibilities”. The League has a role to play in the return to play protocol and we have a responsibility to ensure the safety of the players, coaches, fans and staff. We’ve done our bit.

We fully support the League and the FAW in their efforts to get football played in Wales. We, as a club, will do all we can to ensure the highest standards are met regarding the Return To Play protocol and will work tirelessly with the League to bring the game back this season.

However, I sincerely hope the League reaches out to the club, quickly, and we can resolve the matter amicably and get back to playing football.

The club will not be making any further comment on the above and, once again, thanks all the fans and supporters for their overwhelming and continued support.

Des Williams
Chairman

Dai83 · 14th September 2020, 06.11:20

The FAW work less days than Carl Darlington. Tier 2 and below, still have no inclination of possible resume dates. They kept Holywell waiting long into the start of last season, before letting them know what division they were playing in. Scruffy gits.

12th September 2020, 10.02:29	#1-0 (permalink)
Rob Due a Testimonial (info 1 & 2) (info) Joined: Oct 2004 Racecourse Spot: Yale Stand Real Name: Rob Twitter: @	Covid protocol breach at recent opponents Cefn Druids FAW statement this morning https://www.faw.cymru/en/news/jd-cym...en/news/&pos=1 : "The Football Association of Wales has today (12 September) taken the decision to postpone the JD Cymru Premier fixture between Haverfordwest County and Cefn Druids, following a breach of the ‘Safer Return to Play Protocol’ by Cefn Druids. The primary aim of the ‘Safer Return to Play Protocol’ guidelines is to protect the health and safety of all persons involved in Cymru Premier fixtures. They must be followed to ensure that matches can take place safely during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Cefn Druids have been reminded of their duties and obligations to the JD Cymru Premier and the safe return of football in Wales." Lots doing the rounds in the last 24 hours on it - we played them on the 8th - is there any impact ?

13th September 2020, 21.55:12	#2-0 (permalink)
Rob Due a Testimonial (info 1 & 2) (info) Joined: Oct 2004 Racecourse Spot: Yale Stand Real Name: Rob Twitter: @	Re: Covid protocol breach at recent opponents Cefn Druids Think there is good news in this quite long statement in terms of if it affects us. I would like to firstly thank everyone for their overwhelming show of support. Despite not knowing all the facts, you have stood firm and backed us waiting for the truth to come out. The alleged “breach” has nothing to do with our COVID compliance as a club, has no effect on the stadium and does not endanger the players, fans, staff, volunteers or anyone associated with the academy including players, coaches and parents. We, as a club, have passed all the Phases outlined by the Welsh Government with flying colours. We have not only implemented the FAW guidelines but also taken guidance from Public Health Wales to ensure the safety of everyone that visits and works at the football club. We are extremely disappointed that the League and FAW published their statement without knowing all the facts and the media failed to extend the decency of the right to reply. Their statement was widely reported on and made national coverage on TV and social media, unfairly portraying Cefn Druids and damaging our reputation and undermining the excellent work done by all the members of staff, players, volunteers, sponsors and fans. The severity of the situation is such that we have a meeting with our local MP this week and we are in contact with a Government Minister who has a keen interest in this matter. The issue that has caused the alleged “breach” has nothing to do with us but is a fault within the reporting system implemented by the League. We just so happened to discover it and tell them about it, and they shot the messenger. Not trusting the League to fix the issue, the club implemented its own reporting system, based on a Public Health Wales template, to run alongside the Leagues system and embedded it as part of our own COVID compliance protocol. The club notified the relevant people 24 hours after the start of the preseason of a fault in their reporting system. It took a further 7 days for the reporting system personnel to respond. At 9.30pm September 11th we were asked a question, based on the faulty reporting system, that we could not answer. A simple question that no club in the league can answer honestly as they do not and will not have the information unless they have their own reporting system. The League then requested that we provide our own unofficial internal reporting system as evidence. We drove to the club and emailed it, and they decided that it wasn’t good enough and at 11.55pm I received the call postponing the game. I personally feel that the club has been unfairly treated and made to look incompetent and made an example of, nationally. Yet again, the failure of others sees this wonderful club made to look poorly in the eyes of the footballing world when the facts are that someone else dropped the ball and is using us to cover up their mistake. We could have lied and put the lives of people at risk, but we didn’t and we did all we could to support the League and in return it turned on us in the most appalling manner. In the words of a previous Druids Chairman “Roles and responsibilities”. The League has a role to play in the return to play protocol and we have a responsibility to ensure the safety of the players, coaches, fans and staff. We’ve done our bit. We fully support the League and the FAW in their efforts to get football played in Wales. We, as a club, will do all we can to ensure the highest standards are met regarding the Return To Play protocol and will work tirelessly with the League to bring the game back this season. However, I sincerely hope the League reaches out to the club, quickly, and we can resolve the matter amicably and get back to playing football. The club will not be making any further comment on the above and, once again, thanks all the fans and supporters for their overwhelming and continued support. Des Williams Chairman

14th September 2020, 06.11:20	#3-0 (permalink)
Dai83 Club Captain Joined: Jun 2020 Racecourse Spot: none given Real Name: none given Twitter: @	Re: Covid protocol breach at recent opponents Cefn Druids The FAW work less days than Carl Darlington. Tier 2 and below, still have no inclination of possible resume dates. They kept Holywell waiting long into the start of last season, before letting them know what division they were playing in. Scruffy gits.