Farsley Celtic: Chairman of Leeds football club resigns after death threats and 'months of negativity'

Paul Barthorpe has announced that he will be resigning as chairman of Farsley Celtic FC after nearly six years in the role.

In a statement on the club’s website, Mr Barthorpe said that he has been to hospital with “stress related heart issues” in recent weeks as a result of the negativity surrounding the club.

There has been a string of issues at the club throughout the season and significant discontent among fans.

The football club has been playing “home” matches in Buxton, Derbyshire, this season due to delays in the laying of an artificial surface, whilst players openly criticised club ownership due to the late payment of wages.

There has also been a boycott on attending games by some fans and the most recent manager, Neil Redfearn, left at the weekend less than a month into the role.

Mr Barthorpe said that the “campaign against me” and the publicity it has attracted has had a “significant impact” on the running of the club as it had driven away sponsors and made it harder to attract players.

He also said that there are further concerns that the pitch “won’t be completed in time” as a private matched funding partner had been contacted by someone “telling them not to get involved with our club”.

He concluded: “Given the significant impact this has had on my health, and the continued damage being caused to the club as I have tried to highlight, I have held talks with the board about taking a step back and resigning from the chairman role and let the board take full control in running the club, which they have effectively been doing for the last week anyway.

For more stories like this and all of the latest breaking news and sport from Leeds, sign up today for your free newsletter from the Yorkshire Evening Post.

“Having put in so much hard work and money over the last six years for it to be like this really hurts. But 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.”

A follow-up statement confirmed that directors Paul Glover, Josh Greaves, John Stubbs and Jon Wickham will be taking the lead in running the football club. It added that Mr Barthorpe currently retains his stake on the holdings company, FC2010 (Holdings) Ltd.

In a statement, all four said: “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.”

They added that an open meeting with supporters will be held at a later date.