MACCLESFIELD TOWN have performed a swift U-turn over their offer to allow a non-professional to pay to play in a competitive fixture for them.
On Wednesday the cash-strapped Silkmen announced they would be willing to allow a punter to play ten minutes for them in return for £20,000.
However, no sooner than the dust had settled on their fundraising idea, a statement appeared on their website saying the initiative had been pulled.
The statement read: “The ‘pay to play’ proposal was one of many innovative ideas that have been considered in the last few weeks to raise both funds and interest in the club.
“It was intended to be a light-hearted idea that would be of interest only to our local media.
“We now recognise that, whatever controls are put in place, it creates a possibility of altering the outcome of a competitive fixture and as such, clearly crosses an important line with respect to the integrity of the game.
“We are therefore withdrawing the offer and would like to apologise unreservedly to the football authorities and to the Football Conference for our error of judgement in this matter.”
