Hello to you all,

First let me start by saying that these last few weeks since stepping into the Chairman’s role has probably been the most testing and frustrating time in football for myself and my family and indeed, you, the supporters of our club. It truly was an honour to be named Chairman of the club which has now turned into a nightmare.

There have been several rumours and allegations made towards certain members of the committee over the past three weeks.  They still are being investigated by the club and the authorities and are very sensitive and could be damaging to the club going forward.

In my previous role as head of youth development my integrity has never been questioned and I have always tried to do what is right and now it looks like my name is being brought into question without the full facts being known. It should be noted I have only been in the position of chairman for 14 days.

You the supporters deserve answers and I hope you realise at the end of this why I have been unable to provide any until now due to the authorities being involved and an ongoing investigation taking place.

Once these allegations had been brought to me and other committee members three weeks ago by the management team, they have been taken seriously and investigated. The appropriate authorities were called to help with the investigation and this has all been documented by the club. The club has dealt with these allegations over the last three weeks in what we think has been the best way to do things to get the truth for all parties.  The allegations being made must still  give those accused their presumption of innocence. 

We will say at this point some of these serious allegations being made by the management team and other individuals loyal to the club were not a “smoking gun” as all evidence needs to be corroborated. We have taken time to seek advice and tie all the information together. We are not trained lawyers or accountants and we have been working with multiple sources of information to try and find the truth. It has been 10 hours a day on calls trying to listen to all sides of the story. Whilst investigations were progressing things became very frustrating for everyone involved has been under a massive amount of pressure to conduct ourselves in the correct manner. This has led to a number of broken relationships and things being said that have caused those relationships to be unresolvable. 

I can assure you that the reason behind the management team being dismissed isn’t what is claimed as everyone has the right to ask questions but this must be done in a certain manner without pressure or prejudiced and threats of violence and must be done in conjunction with any investigation,  the club and authorities and protocols. 

We have diligently completed this procedure to the best of our abilities whilst retaining our integrity. We as a club are looking to rectify these and move forward with a more traditional look to the committee structure and complete transparency in the future to put the club on solid foundations which will safely guard the club for the next hundred years and get by the challenges the club face regarding covid and other challenges in the future.

The alleged people who have been targeted by these allegations has a right to defend themselves and the decision was made not to suspend this person or people until all the facts have been presented, something which didn’t sit right with the management team. I have followed the letter of the law while doing this process which was; suspension should never be an automatic approach for an employer when dealing with a potential disciplinary matter even where there are reasons to consider suspension in most situations a temporary adjustment to the employees working arrangements can remove the need to suspend. I have kept myself right through all this process and can hold my head high since becoming the chairman.

Yesterday morning I have accepted the resignation of a committee member who has had enough of allegations made against him and for legal reasons I cannot go into this further which I hope everyone will understand that this person is fully cooperating with the financial authorities and should be presumed innocent pending the completion of the investigation.

This whole situation has become very unsavoury and has questioned if I even want to be involved in football full stop after many years coaching and trying to do the right thing by many people over the years. Any one that knows me knows that I have always tried my best and tried to do what’s right and to be even questioned in this way is massively disrespectful. For people to question my integrity on social media without knowing me and the facts and only hearing one side of the story is incredibly hurtful. 

Unfortunately, I can’t go into any more details at this moment in time but one thing I can assure you that I am working tirelessly with the authorities and lawyers at this moment in time and if these allegations are true then the people behind this will face justice with my full support. 

I have been in the position for two weeks and have inherited the club’s position and am trying my best to get to the bottom of all of this to try and save the club.

I will finish by saying sometimes the hardest thing to do is follow the due process in difficult circumstances. All I have ever asked for is time to do the right thing, something that certain people are unwilling to give me for one reason or another.

Kind regards,

Gary Clark 

Chairman

Camelon Juniors FC