Non-league club accused of deliberately watering pitch to force postponement

Non-league club King’s Lynn Town are being investigated for allegedly soaking their pitch in order to get a match postponed.

The accusation relates to their recent National League North fixture at home to South Shields.

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King’s Lynn had been due to host the match at home ground The Walks on Saturday, February 14, with kick-off at 3pm.

However, it was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch the day before.

CCTV footage has now been anonymously released showing the sprinklers has been turned on during heavy rainfall on Friday, February 13.

The footage shows the sprinklers in operation at 10:38am GMT on that date.

At the time, the club confirmed the postponement of the match in a statement.

It read: “Due to a high amount of rainfall and insufficient drainage, our pitch has too much sitting water and has become waterlogged.”

The National League have now confirmed they are investigating the incident following the emergence of the CCTV footage.

In a statement, they said they are ‘aware of the allegations and conducting an investigation’.

King’s Lynn had been facing considerable injury problems ahead of the originally scheduled fixture earlier this month.

They are now set to face South Shields next month, with the clash rearranged to March 17.

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Ian Culverhouse’s side currently sit 19th in the National League North, four points above the relegation zone.

The Linnets are aiming to avoid dropping into the seventh tier for the first time since 2019.

King’s Lynn have not played at home since the postponement of their meeting with South Shields.

However, they are set to host Oxford City in the league on Saturday.

It follows a 4-0 away defeat at the hands of Macclesfield last weekend.

As for South Shields, they are second in the table with 15 matches left to play.

The Mariners find themselves just a point adrift of league leaders AFC Fylde.

They were held to a 1-1 draw when they faced King’s Lynn in the return fixture back in November.