Hampshire Premier League investigates abandoned Paulsgrove match after Andover Town lead 8-0
A Hampshire Premier League Division One game between Andover Town and Paulsgrove was abandoned after Paulsgrove were reduced to six players while trailing 8-0, prompting a league investigation and accusations of a farce from the Andover manager.
Andover Town's Hampshire Premier League Division One fixture against Paulsgrove was abandoned early in the second half on Saturday after Paulsgrove were reduced to six players while trailing 8-0. Under the laws of football, a match cannot continue if either team has fewer than seven players.
Andover manager Robbie Skeates told his club's website that Paulsgrove returned for the second half with seven players after all 11 had walked off at the interval with Andover leading 7-0. He said Andover scored almost immediately to make it 8-0, after which another Paulsgrove player went off injured, leaving six. Skeates described the events as a "complete farce" and said he had never seen anything like it from an opposition side in his time in football.
Paulsgrove, in posts appearing to come from their official X account, claimed their players were genuinely injured, with one reply to Skeates saying injured players could not be made to continue. BBC Sport asked the league for Paulsgrove's contact details but the request was declined.
The Hampshire Premier Football League said an investigation is under way, as is standard for any abandoned game, and that it could not comment until the process is complete. Skeates said Andover Town would submit a report to the league.
The result leaves Andover Town mid-table in the 16-team competition, which sits in the 12th tier of the English football pyramid. Paulsgrove are bottom, having lost all 10 of their league games this season, including three completed matches in which they were beaten by eight goals or more.
Image: Shutterstock / BBC Sport
