Dover Athletic Chairman Jim Parmenter has commented on recent speculation, rumours and statements made in relation to the arrangements for our FA Cup tie against Guernsey FC.

The board and I are concerned about the recent press release by Guernsey FC along with “official tweets” and re-tweets by them (which under FA rules are considered tweets by the club) regarding their pending home tie in the FA Cup with this football club.

Much of what has been published is disingenuous and aggressive and has been published before any formal agreement between the two clubs and the FA over the fixture.

While we are aware that competition rules do provision for the fixture being moved to the mainland if agreement for rescheduling cannot be reached, as of today we have not received official confirmation that this is the case.

The chances of being drawn at home on this date should have been no surprise to GFC and we are very surprised, in light of their ground share arrangements, that they have not addressed the potential fixture clash prior to entering the competition.

Guernsey FC enjoy the privilege of special rules (appendix two) regarding their entry into the FA Cup, agreed independently by them with the FA. It is the view of this club that, whilst we will be as accommodating as possible, where we can, Guernsey should operate within the rules of the competition without complaint, as every other club in the competition has to do.

We will provide supporters with further information once arrangements have been agreed and confirmed.