Walton Town FC booted out by league

Stuart Watson

WALTON Town Football Club have been booted out of the Essex & Suffolk Border League after allegedly committing nearly 130 offences in less than two seasons.

Fellow clubs voted by an overwhelming majority to expel Walton from the league after it was decided they had brought the game into disrepute.

The club, who were bottom of the Premier Division with just three points, were alleged to be the instigators of a number of unsavoury incidents which have led to three of their games being abandoned this season.

It was alleged Walton and, in one incident, a supporter of the team, displayed violent conduct on and off the field. At half-time in one game it was said that member of the Walton club invaded the opposition dressing room.

Border League chairman Brian Tatum said: “In the 49 years I have been involved I have never known a motion to be put on the agenda calling for the expulsion of a club from a competition.

“However, as the chairman of this league I am determined to stamp out this sort of thuggery. Walton's behaviour has, quite frankly, been unacceptable.

“I feel we are getting to the stage now where you cannot take young children to games. There is only a small minority creating this and that is the minority the FA have got to root out.”

Having reportedly committed 129 field offences in less than two seasons, Walton have seen games against Coggeshall, Brightlingsea Regent and West Bergholt abandoned.

With two Walton players having already been banned from football for 35 days each, the league committee decided that a special general meeting should be called to decide on Walton's fate.

At that meeting, held at Stanway Rovers Football Club, 42 representatives from the 46 member clubs voted that Walton should be expelled from the league.

Walton will now be banned from reapplying to the league for at least five years.

No one from Walton Town was available for comment.