Farsley Celtic Chairman stands down from role

Paul Barthorpe has stepped down from his role as chairman at National League North side, Farsley Celtic, after "months of criticism and negativity" directed towards him, including death threats.

Farsley Celtic chairman Paul Barthorpe released a statement on Tuesday evening in which he said the abuse had had a "significant impact" on his health.

The managerless National League North outfit have been playing their home games almost 70 miles away from Leeds in Buxton, Derbyshire due to delays in installing a new 4G pitch at their stadium.

"Having put in so much hard work and money over the last six years for it to be like this really hurts," said Mr Barthorpe.

The statement continued: "I hope this act means there will be more support and more positivity towards the club and the board, as they are all like me volunteers, all good guys and all have the club at heart, and we are all desperate for this to work out."

Directors Paul Glover, Josh Greaves, John Stubbs and Jon Wickham will be taking the lead in running the football club and FC2010 Ltd.

A statement from all four said: “It’s a great honour to be the custodians of this incredible football club and we are excited by the challenges that lie ahead. We are very proud to be involved and our focus now is to work together with stakeholders and fans to build a sustainable and successful club on and off the pitch for the long term.

“We’d like to call on all supporters, the wider Farsley community, everyone connected with the club and local businesses to come together and back us as we look to forge a sustainable future for Farsley Celtic FC.

“A lot of work lies ahead, but if we are all united we are confident we can achieve a stable future for the club we all love.”