{"id":325874,"date":"2025-08-07T18:36:16","date_gmt":"2025-08-07T18:36:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/325874\/"},"modified":"2025-08-07T18:36:16","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T18:36:16","slug":"request-for-jeff-stelling-to-be-banned-from-boardrooms-labelled-shock-by-fans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/325874\/","title":{"rendered":"Request for Jeff Stelling to be banned from boardrooms labelled \u2018shock\u2019 by fans"},"content":{"rendered":"

Stelling said that he will join Pools fans in the stands after club chairman Raj Singh wrote to National League clubs asking that the former Sky Sports and now TalkSPORT presenter not be allocated spaces in their boardrooms.<\/p>\n

In May, Stelling stood down as honorary president of Hartlepool in protest of Singh\u2019s handling of negotiations to sell the club to a local consortium.<\/p>\n

The 70-year-old discussed the recent situation on TalkSPORT on Wednesday morning, stating that he had been to several games on an independent basis last season.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on an unsettled couple of days ahead of the new season, Hartlepool United Supporters Trust (HUST) and Hartlepool United Football Club Supporters\u2019 Association (HUFCSA) member Ron Harnish branded the ongoing situation as \u201csilly\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"JeffStelling stood down as honorary president of Hartlepool in May (Zac Goodwin\/PA)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe letter really (was) a shock and it hasn\u2019t put the club in a good light,\u201d Harnish told PA news agency.<\/p>\n

\u201cInitially you look at it and it\u2019s very surprising, then you look and think \u2018why have they done this?\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t make any sense to a fan looking at it so they just think it\u2019s silly, it really is silly. Why would a chairman of a football club put this letter out to all the other chairmen?<\/p>\n

\u201cYou ask any Hartlepool fan \u2013 in all honesty they should forget all about this and get on with the football.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hartlepool issued a statement on Wednesday stating the letter was written asking opposition not to seat Stelling in \u201cdignitary places\u201d.<\/p>\n

The statement said: \u201cFor absolute clarity, neither the club nor chairman have asked for other clubs in the National League to exclude or ban Mr Stelling from matches at their grounds.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe letter that the club recently sent to National League opposition simply informed opposition that Mr Stelling no longer held a formal role and considerately asked opposition not to allocate Mr Stelling dignitary places or seating, so as to avoid any unnecessary confusion or embarrassment on match days for the benefit of all parties including Mr Stelling.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\u23f3 Counting down to Saturday.#HUFC<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/6MI7Hzqtqz<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Hartlepool United (@Official_HUFC) August 7, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Despite being surrounded by off-the-field problems, Hartlepool\u2019s new campaign begins on Saturday with a trip to Yeovil, where Stelling will be in attendance having purchased his ticket.<\/p>\n

Hartlepool picked up 60 points at the end of the 2024\/25 campaign with 14 wins from 46 league matches and boss Simon Grayson insisted the club will \u201ccontinue to stick together\u201d as they aim to build on last season\u2019s 11th-placed finish.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do have a united mentality at the club, we win together and we lose together,\u201d Grayson told the PA news agency.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t control what goes on away from the pitch, I can only control my department which is management and the players.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want supporters who may be on the fence of coming back to show their faces at the games and back the team, because at the end of the day, we are playing and fighting and competing for them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis club is a family, and we will continue to stick together as a unit, and we will try to be the best we can for those supporters.\u201d<\/p>\n