Championship - Magpies grounded by FA

Eurosport - Mon, 13 Jul 20:18:00 2009

Newcastle have been advised by the FA that they cannot travel to the Dutch city of Utrecht for a pre-season friendly at the end of the month.

2009 Newcastle fans - 0

Doubts over the fixture had been raised after it emerged Newcastle's north-east rivals Sunderland would be playing in Holland at the same time. Both clubs were due to play just 30 miles apart during the final weekend of the month.

"Following conversations with the KNVB [the Dutch FA] and the Mayor of Amsterdam's office, The FA has reluctantly withdrawn permission for Newcastle United to play a friendly with Utrecht on Sunday 26 July," read an FA statement published on the Newcastle website, www.nufc.co.uk.

The Black Cats are taking part in the famous Amsterdam Tournament, during which they will face Benfica and Atletico Madrid at the Amsterdam ArenA on July 24 and 26, the latter game taking place on the same day that Magpies are scheduled to face FC Utrecht.

The fixture clash gave way to concerns that trouble could emerge with supporters of both clubs likely to be booked on the same flights and ferries to make the trip across the North Sea.

Amsterdam's mayor, Job Cohen, was so concerned by the potential for trouble that he called for Sunderland to be banned from the tournament, but the FA have ruled that Newcastle will have to miss out as tickets for Sunderland's trip had already gone on sale.

The statement continued: "Sunderland had applied for permission to participate in the Amsterdam tournament, with matches on 24 and 26 July, while Newcastle applied to play Utrecht on 26 July.

"After liaising with the KNVB and the UK and Dutch Police, permission was given to both clubs with assurances made to the FA that there were no objections to both teams playing in Holland at the same time.

"Following concerns raised by the Mayor of Amsterdam, it became clear that only one of the two teams would be able to travel to Holland and The FA actively sought to resolve the situation.

"Priority was given to Sunderland for three reasons; their application to play was received first, tickets have already been sold to their supporters, and travel arrangements have already been made. Newcastle United have not yet sold any tickets to their supporters."

PA Sport

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  1. r.thompson if ur left with last season team ur will be­ left with last seasons wages and although they should­ be good enough to do well in the championship if they­ don't get u up at the first time of asking the wage­ bill will cripple u.i think ashley will hold on as long­ as possible and then sell about mid aug giving the new­ owner just a couple of weeks to sort out transfers­ although u can take players on loan after the transfer­ deadline as ur in the championship

    From heslop448, on Tue 14 Jul 10:15PM

  2. ian yes we will have to pay top wages for top players­ but i think this season we will buy players that will­ keep us up all this shopping at harrods is rubbish we­ will only get run of the mill premiership players

    From heslop448, on Tue 14 Jul 10:09PM

  3. comment 6 you do have a point as a black and white i­ have to admit time is running out for us ,however i­ would imagine eventually shearer will get the job and­ being the kind of pro he is would have his target­ players in mind(THAT IS IF ANY ARE LEFT)and would move­ things along quickly if not as much as they played @#$%­ last season if we are left with last seasons team,i­ personally think they will have a point to prove and­ are good enough to get back up straight away

    From zx ninjas, on Tue 14 Jul 9:01PM

  4. heslop....agree with you about barton,the scouse git­ should of been potted straight away,but ashley probably­ thinks he can get a bob or two for him!!if sunderland­ do want to sign class players they might just have to­ pay top dollar in wages??

    From newcastleian1, on Tue 14 Jul 8:55PM

  5. maybe we did ian but our players were not on 50k plus­ if u had just terminated bartons contract u would of­ saved as much money as laying off all those people

    From heslop448, on Tue 14 Jul 8:47PM

  6. heslop...dont suppose the mackems laid anybody off when­ they were being relegated frequently!

    From newcastleian1, on Tue 14 Jul 6:05PM

  7. cameron ur getting worried arn't u u started biting­ at any little dig and the truth is there might as well­ be nobody at ur club cos nobody tells u fans anything­ ur left in the dark ashley is getting his own back­ after the fans demonstrated against him and don't­ think its ended yet if ur club isn't sold soon­ harper will be right a slow painful death and although­ no real mackem wants u to go down again the­ similarities to leeds get stronger and stronger u not­ got rid of any of ur high earners except the ones­ who's contracts are up although u are reportedly­ still paying ur aussie as he has not found a new club­ until 31july ,next season ur wage bill is going to be­ more than 100% of ur turnover its a recipe for­ disaster.The only thing u have going for u is ur fan­ base and think u will find that ur gates will drop­ which will add mor financial pressure don't want to­ upset u anymore mate but ur DOOMED

    From heslop448, on Tue 14 Jul 5:59PM

  8. It`s no big deal.

    From Bobby Robson A Legend, on Tue 14 Jul 11:28AM

  9. cameron they laid 80 staff off when they went down to­ lessen the wage bill while all the players still got­ their massive wages.tell me how can they the players­ sleep at night when so many innocent people lost their­ jobs people who had no part in u going down while the­ ones responsible all went on holiday still getting­ those fat pay cheques

    From heslop448, on Tue 14 Jul 8:59AM

  10. That's a lie mate!

    From cameron w, on Mon 13 Jul 10:24PM

  11. newcastle had not yet sold any tickets to their­ supporters of course they haven't theres nobody at­ the club to sell them as they can't afford to pay­ their wages

    From heslop448, on Mon 13 Jul 10:09PM
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