Official club statement - 31 December 2014
Carlisle United Football Club can confirm that an investigation into allegations that players had breached club regulations following the Boxing Day victory at Morecambe has been completed and that six members of the first team squad have been subject to disciplinary procedures with immediate effect.
The club and first team manager have taken into account the serious nature of the incident and the potential impact of the breach of regulations on the disappointing performance and result against York City, less than 48 hours after the incident took place, and have imposed the maximum permissible sanctions accordingly.
Manager Keith Curle said: “It was important for us to talk to the squad as a collective and to find out exactly what happened before we decided on our course of action. I appreciate that our supporters, who put a lot of time and effort into backing this club, have wanted to see a response as quickly as possible following on from the disappointment of the home game on Sunday and the release of this news on Tuesday morning.
“I can assure you that we share their concerns with what happened and we do not deem such actions as tolerable at this football club. We are bound by regulations and, following discussions with the individuals involved, we have imposed a maximum fine and have introduced the removal of certain professional privileges for the maximum allowed period.
“We need to make it clear that the club, the staff and, more importantly, the fans expect a certain level of professionalism from the players who represent them. I am sure this is a situation we will not face again.”
Managing director John Nixon said: “Information about this incident started to come through to us late on Monday afternoon and the manager has acted swiftly, having been informed on Tuesday morning, to deal with what we all feel is a very serious situation. We have taken note of the comments from the fans and of the huge disappointment we all experienced on Sunday afternoon.
“It is not club policy to name those involved in situations such as this but, if individuals felt it right and proper to offer an apology to the supporters publicly, we would encourage them to do so at the earliest opportunity.”
