YOUNG footballers at Evesham United have been punished for missing a league fixture in order to cheer on their heroes in the biggest game in the club’s history.

More than 100 members of the club’s junior section travelled to Torquay on Saturday, November 8, to watch Evesham United Football Club compete in the first round of the FA Cup.

However, the Ambassador Evesham Sunday League turned down the club’s request to postpone and rearrange the fixtures for Evesham United’s under 16, 15 and 12 teams on the day of the match and because the games were not played, the league has deducted each team two points.

Parents are planning to write to the league to express their views, with Evesham mayor Alan Booth and club officials joining them in expressing outrage at the decision.

A parent of one of the boys said: “It is a petty and small-minded attitude.

“To see 100 children and parents from the junior section go down proudly wearing their tracksuits and for the 11 mascots to be applauded as they walked around the ground was great to see.

“The juniors have been given a taste of what it must be like to train hard and be dedicated to achieve the chance to play in the greatest cup competition in the World. Shame on the Ambassador committee for not making an exception.”

Mayor Alan Booth said: “This was the biggest day in the club’s history and obviously the children and parents wanted to be part of it.

“These were exceptional circumstances and surely there can be a better way to resolve this than to deduct points.

“I hope the league will re-consider.”

Evesham United chairman Jim Cockerton said the club would be appealing.

“We let the league know in ample time what we were planning. We hope common sense will prevail,” he said.

Secretary of the Ambassador Evesham Football League Tony Gittins said: “The request to postpone the games was turned down because we felt it would set a precedent and create problems further down the line.”

Evesham United also has five junior teams in the Mercian Festival Junior Football League.

These sides have not been deducted points, despite also missing fixtures.