A relegation-threatened National League side is being investigated on suspicion of deliberately causing the postponement of a match by soaking their pitch with sprinklers during heavy rainfall.
King’s Lynn Town, who are owned by a Singapore-based company run by the media entrepreneur Joseph Phua, had their match against South Shields FC on Saturday February 14 postponed after a pitch inspection the previous day.
Pictures from CCTV sent to the Non-League Paper, with time stamps showing that they were taken mid-morning on Friday 13, appear to show the sprinkler system spraying water onto the pitch even while it was raining.
King’s Lynn, in green, are 19th in the National League North, two places above the relegation zone
STEPHEN FINCH/ALAMY
The National League is now conducting an investigation into allegations that there were efforts to deliberately postpone the match. South Shields are being kept abreast of any developments.
There have been reports that King’s Lynn, who are 19th in the National League North table, two places above the relegation zone, had been hit by injuries and illness that week. The club has not commented.
It is understood that the National League has contacted King’s Lynn and requested access to the full CCTV video and asked for the club to respond to the allegations. It is unclear what kind of sanctions the club could face if the allegations are proven as it is an unprecedented situation for the league.
A National League spokesperson said: “The National League are aware of the allegations and are conducting an investigation into it.”
King’s Lynn were taken over by Singapore-based Turn Sports Investments (TSI) in November last year, but the company said it only intended to “stabilise the club in the short term” and then “relinquish its role once the right structures are in place”.
Phua, who co-founded a dating app and a streaming platform in Singapore, has written on his blog about travelling from Asia for 33 hours to watch King’s Lynn lose 2-0 at home to Farsley Celtic.