‘Disappointment and frustration’ – Lewisham Borough release statement after wrongful sending off in Kent Senior Trophy defeat

Lewisham Borough have released a statement on social media which indicated one of their players was sent off in a case of mistaken identity during their Kent Senior Trophy fixture against Lordswood FC on Saturday.

The Sham ply their trade in the Southern Counties East League Division One and play at the Ladywell Arena.

Lordswood play in a league above Lewisham in the Premier Divison of the SCEFL.

Lewisham were 3-2 up when the referee sent off the wrong player in the 68th minute and went on to lose 5-3 in extra time.

The club released a statement on their X account, which said: ‘The Club wants to express its disappointment and frustration with the events that took place during our Kent Senior Trophy fixture against Lordswood FC yesterday (Saturday 14 October). 

‘In the 68th minute, with Lewisham Borough leading 3-2, the referee showed a yellow card to one of our players for an infringement. 

‘Following a conversation with the opposition bench, the referee then proceeded to show a red card to the player in question and dismiss him from the field of play – seemingly under the impression that he had already been cautioned, which he had not. In real time, it appeared that there had been a case of ‘mistaken identity’. 

‘The player shown a ‘second’ yellow card was playing in a similar position to another of our players who had been booked in the first half – both are young black men. Despite the best efforts of our coaching staff and players to highlight this error to the referee, they were ignored and dismissed. 

‘Our coaching staff were refused the courtesy of a pitch-side conversation with the referee that had been afforded to the opposition bench. It was later confirmed by the match day referee assessor in attendance that the player shown a ‘second’ yellow card had not previously been cautioned. 

‘After the match, the match day assessor spoke to the officials privately in their dressing room. The tone and attitude of the referee towards our manager was markedly different after this conversation had taken place and the mistake had been highlighted to him by a third party. The referee offered an apology for the decision and admitted there had been a case of ‘mistaken identity’. 

‘𝗪𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝘁𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻, 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺.

‘No apology can change the fact that we were unfairly penalised and forced to play with 10 players for the remainder of the second half and the duration of extra time, with Lordswood going on to win the tie 5-3. It also fails to address a number of questions about the decision-making process and the treatment of our staff and players by the officials. 

• Why were the numbers of the players cautioned not properly recorded in the referee’s notebook or by the assistant referees, as per standard protocol? 
• Why did a conversation with the opposition bench take place before the referee made the decision to show our player a ‘second’ yellow card? 
• Why were our coaching staff not afforded the same opportunity to speak to the referee about the decision in real time, as they sought in good faith to correct this error? 

‘Lewisham Borough CFC is a community club in a diverse part of south east London and we pride ourselves upon being an inclusive club which embraces our entire community. Our committee, fans, playing and coaching staff are a celebration of this diversity and our bench is heavily reflective of the community that we represent. 

‘Staff, players and fans in attendance were left feeling that there was an element of unconscious bias in the way that they game was officiated and the incident managed. Football should be for everyone and no individual or group should feel that they have been treated differently because of their identity. 

‘It is disappointing that this is the way that we have been made to feel, as a community club from a diverse area. We will be exploring all possible avenues to ensure the issues highlighted are properly addressed.

‘We do this in the hope that incidents like this are not repeated in the future and that no player or coach is subject to unfair treatment because of their identity. We thank Lordwood FC for their support and wish them every success in the competition.’

When asked about the incident by the South London Press, the Kent FA said: “We are aware of the situation. 

“Any issues will be thoroughly investigated and should there be any action this will be processed in line with FA rules and regulations. As this is an active situation, we have no further comment to make.”

PICTURE: LEWISHAM BOROUGH