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Wales Online
Wales Online
Sport
Paul Abbandonato

Historic Welsh club and neighbours of boom side Wrexham in turmoil as entire playing squad walk out

Wrexham, led by their Hollywood owners, are one of the most happening teams in the UK at the moment, capturing headlines globally because of the fairytale story under Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

Just a few miles down the road from the Racecourse, the fortunes of the other Wrexham side could hardly be more constrasting.

Cefn Druids FC, like their bigger neighbours, have a proud history, the second oldest club in Wales, after Wrexham, and the oldest playing in Welsh domestic football.

As recently as the 2018-19 campaign, they were proudly playing in the Europa League, having spent a number of seasons in the Welsh Premier.

However, they are in turmoil at the moment, with the first team squad and manager having walked out in a dispute over alleged unpaid wages.

Druids were relegated from the Welsh Premier at the end of the 2021-22 campaign, but were having a good season in the Cymru North before players and management say 'the cracks appeared' in recent times.

A joint statement issued by the players and new manager Neil Ashton confirmed they have walked out, with a dispute over payment of wages amongst other issues arising. Druids were so short of numbers in their final match they could only field eight players.

They lost that game 8-0 to Prestatyn. Ashton is a former Wrexham defender.

The statement from the players and management, as reported by the Daily Post, reads: "Sadly as a management and playing staff we feel the need to put a few things straight about what has gone on this season at Cefn Druids. The season started with high hopes of battling for the league... unfortunately behind the scenes didn't reflect what the players were doing on the pitch - lack of training kit and club attire made us look more like a Sunday League team than a Cymru North, but this didn't deter us and we continued to perform to the best of our ability.

"But January came and the cracks started appearing - transfer embargo, rumours of unpaid wages started spreading, exodus of young players and wage payments started becoming delayed."

The statement continued: "Multiple players were waiting longer than three weeks (to be paid) but we continued to play for our own pride and to attempt to finish as high as possible.

"We feel we were taken for granted a bit and that we would essentially play for free. It got to the point where we had eight players available for the last game of the season and we still played when most would have gone home but we knew the club would get fined £10,000 if we didn't play so we chose to play.

"The season is now over and collectively we will all be leaving Cefn Druids. It's a sad state of affairs but we as a group cannot condone the treatment we have endured and then go back again for more next season.

"The club has sadly delayed payments to this date with many of us being owed more than two weeks wages and we are almost three weeks after the season has finished. There are a lot of good people within the club but it's not the club we signed for and wanted to be a part of."

Cefn Druids chairman Des Williams responded by branding the statement "incorrect" and "inaccurate".

He said: "It has been brought to my attention that a statement has been made by the management and players of the club and circulated on social media. I’m personally saddened that they have taken to this course of action and made comments that are incorrect, inaccurate and is a deliberate attempt to cast a shadow on the club and myself."

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