Football club rejects claims of Covid ‘raid’ on premises

A Co Down amateur football club has rejected weekend claims in some media outlets that a police ‘raid’ was carried out on the premises.
By Mark Rainey
Published 18th Oct 2020, 19:27 BST
Updated 18th Oct 2020, 20:34 BST
The entrance to Donaghadee FC's first floor clubroomsThe entrance to Donaghadee FC's first floor clubrooms
The entrance to Donaghadee FC's first floor clubrooms

Donaghadee FC said that officers who called in response to possible breaches of the coronavirus regulations found no evidence of any unlawful activity.

A number of media reports suggested up to 30 people were on the premises during the Scottish top flight football match between Celtic and Rangers on Saturday morning.

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One article said police descended on the club after receiving a tip-off that the recently drafted public health regulations were being breached.

The club later issued a statement saying that there “was no breach of any Covid regulations,” and “no raid” on the club.

Donaghadee FC is managed by loyalist activist and commentator Jamie Bryson.

“PSNI did not set one foot over the door of our club house,” the statement said.

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“Two uniform officers...had a conversation with a club member on the street who had spotted them loitering.

“The officers were perfectly pleasant and following a respectful discussion around what powers the PSNI had, and more importantly did not have under the Covid regulations, they left the area.”

The statement went on to say: “Not a single person was arrested, cautioned, or issued with a Covid notice.”

The club also set out several legal points – claiming that even if a number of people had gathered to watch football on television they would not have been committing any offence.

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“There is absolutely nothing in law which would prohibit 15 persons gathering in a clubhouse or community hall to watch a football match,” it said.

“The PSNI at no stage entered our premises. In any event in these circumstances (as they were informed) they had no power to force entry under PACE 1989 – therefore there isn’t a scintilla of evidence that persons were doing anything at all which would fall outside of the law.”

Responding to one report that around 30 persons were spotted “leaving the club one by one,” the club statement went on to say: “This number has been invented and there is not even a tiny thread of evidence that could even remotely support this absurd proposition.”

Yesterday, a PSNI spokesman said: “Police attended premises at Parade in Donaghadee on Saturday, October 17, after receiving a report of a breach of Covid 19 regulations.

“A number of individuals were spoken to and enquiries into the matter are ongoing.”