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CHESTER

drwhoman

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The club have had a visit from the police for breaching Welsh Covid regulations! The car park is in England and the pitch in Wales.! You can only have 50 at a match in Wales unlike England! They had over2k for the Fylde game. They have only been warned for now. Sounds just like the different Covid rules in the different Australian States. You need a degree in Covid regulation!
 
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Alan King, Barry Dyson
Are Chester now technically a Welsh club? Can they enter the Welsh Cup and potentially get into Europe?
 

drwhoman

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Are Chester now technically a Welsh club? Can they enter the Welsh Cup and potentially get into Europe?
I believe not. The issue is that the ground is in Wales. Apparently, the New Saints have the contra issue. They are a Welsh League Club but the ground is in England! I doubt if they have had a visit from the Shropshire police! As an aside, it shows what i know - the English/Welsh border cuts right through Chester. I have always thought it was totally English - maybe because it was always an English base for harassing the Welsh historically! (LOL!).
 

Ian

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What a joke and it took how many officers to address this farce?
 

Sparky

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It’s funny when I was at the Fylde game it did cross my mind. Google maps suggests its in wales
 

Boz

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I believe not. The issue is that the ground is in Wales. Apparently, the New Saints have the contra issue. They are a Welsh League Club but the ground is in England! I doubt if they have had a visit from the Shropshire police! As an aside, it shows what i know - the English/Welsh border cuts right through Chester. I have always thought it was totally English - maybe because it was always an English base for harassing the Welsh historically! (LOL!).
I read that TNS have to play their games with minimal fans in line with Welsh rules, despite the ground being in England.

From what I gather, this has arisen as a result of some stirring by a Wrexham fan journalist on the local paper and a Plaid Cymru AM. If Chester are obliged to play their games behind closed doors, then they ought to be entitled to the same compensation as Welsh clubs from the Welsh government, but it's a legal minefield and wouldn't hazard a guess as to how a court would resolve it. The Chester chairman has said they might go out of business playing behind closed doors. I'd hope that doesn't happen. Although we're meant to be rivals, never really minded them as a club.
 

drwhoman

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Does not that make you a lawbreaker Sparky ? You will be going the same way as Djokovic soon. :)
The Djokovic situation is a complete mess what ever you think of his vaccination status, no one will come out of this looking good. To add insult to injury he was put in a hotel where many of the other residents are refugees who have been trying to get into Australia for years! The trouble is that like UK certain politicians think there are votes in being hard on borders.
 
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I read that TNS have to play their games with minimal fans in line with Welsh rules, despite the ground being in England.

From what I gather, this has arisen as a result of some stirring by a Wrexham fan journalist on the local paper and a Plaid Cymru AM. If Chester are obliged to play their games behind closed doors, then they ought to be entitled to the same compensation as Welsh clubs from the Welsh government, but it's a legal minefield and wouldn't hazard a guess as to how a court would resolve it. The Chester chairman has said they might go out of business playing behind closed doors. I'd hope that doesn't happen. Although we're meant to be rivals, never really minded them as a club.
The club is registered in England and is affiliated to the English FA, so you would think there is no case to answer. Ninety nine per cent of their supporters are English, so there is greater risk of Covid transmission from North Walians crossing the border to go shopping in Chester. However, I am sure plenty of lawyers would be prepared to dispute that interpretation for a few quid.

I just wonder what Flintshire CC's motivation was in bringing the case in the first place.
 

Boz

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Think they pay their business rates to Flintshire because of the ground being in Wales though?
 
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Think they pay their business rates to Flintshire because of the ground being in Wales though?
But even if that is true, so what (the whole ground is not in Wales anyway) ? They are competing in an English competition and none of the people in the ground are Welsh, so the club should not be subject to Welsh coronavirus restrictions based on a spurious technicality.
 
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aldo
hahaha you have to giggle at it how stupid is it and at the same time I do feel for the LITTLE club
 

Boz

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But even if that is true, so what (the whole ground is not in Wales anyway) ? They are competing in an English competition and none of the people in the ground are Welsh, so the club should not be subject to Welsh coronavirus restrictions based on a spurious technicality.
From a common sense approach I agree with you. However from a legal perspective it could certainly apply and their whole split across the border set-up is a bit of a legal minefield. If the Welsh government would pay them compensation similar to the Welsh clubs for playing behind closed doors they might seriously consider it. Unfair as that is to the Chester and other fans of Welsh clubs.
 
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From a common sense approach I agree with you. However from a legal perspective it could certainly apply and their whole split across the border set-up is a bit of a legal minefield. If the Welsh government would pay them compensation similar to the Welsh clubs for playing behind closed doors they might seriously consider it. Unfair as that is to the Chester and other fans of Welsh clubs.
However, as you said previously Oswestry (TNS) have to abide by Welsh rules despite being based in England, so why does not the reverse logic apply ?

It is only a legal issue if the authorities choose to make it one, which is why I am surprised at Flintshire Council's actions. The situation had been quietly 'ignored' for months until now, with no complaints from anybody.

Coronavirus rules are there to protect the population in exceptional circumstances, not to trip businesses up on technicalities.
 

Boz

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I suspect that the council have acted as a combination of political pressure from the Labour/Plaid Cymru Welsh government and stirring from Wrexham fans within their area, but who knows? It is certainly out there as a live issue now, the genie won’t just go back into the bottle.
 

bigmart

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Welsh fans can cross the border for away games, so even more daft to me
 
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