First we were told that Merseyside Police were preventing a possible presentation of the League One Trophy on the pitch at Prenton Park on grounds of the old chestnut of health and safety.
They then denied such accusations, pointing the finger back at the Safety Officer at Tranmere Rovers football club who was the real kill joy in all of this 'TrophyGate' saga, who in turn have called on the Football League to issue this statement in their defence:
In the event of AFC Bournemouth being crowned npower League 1 champions on Saturday, they will be presented with the trophy at the Goldsands Stadium on Sunday ahead of their open top bus parade to celebrate promotion to the.
The presentation will commence at 12pm, entry to the Goldsands Stadium will be free of charge and the main stand will open at 11am. Ordinarily, The Football League does not present trophies at away grounds unless a club makes a specific request for us to do so.
In this case, AFC Bournemouth did ask to The League to present the trophy on Saturday but after consultation with Tranmere Rovers and Merseyside Police it was decided not to grant the request.
Tranmere Rovers felt that they were not absolutely able to guarantee the safety of all players, match officials and supporters on the day.
For the AFC Bournemouth, Chairman Eddie Mitchell was quoted as saying on the BBC Sport web site: "If we do win it, then we want to celebrate on the day. There is nothing better than celebrating at the time when you achieve victory. As far as I am aware they have not given us a reason. To celebrate on the day is what I thought it was all about. If we are unable to, I would ask the fans to be patient and celebrate on the Sunday. It is disappointing, especially when you wait so long to achieve something like this. But we don't make the rules".
Oddly enough, Tranmere Rovers have been silent and have been made a laughing stock via a campaign on Twitter, which has spread to the national press and BBC Radio 5 Live.
Source: Cherries MAD
Source: FOOTYMAD
