Hollands & Blair manager Simon Halsey hopes they can still fulfil their FA Cup fixture against Burgess Hill Town which was called off due to a Covid-19 outbreak .

A statement on Friday from Burgess Hill announced that “some players” in their squad had shown Covid-19 symptoms. Blair say they were then made aware at around 8pm that evening that players had tested positive.

Blair consulted with their own league and decided that they wouldn’t travel to West Sussex for the match.

At present, Town have been awarded the win, with Blair missing out after "failing to fulfil a fixture" but a report is being sent to the Football Association today (Sunday) by the Gillingham club. They feel they acted in the best interest of everyone associated with their own club with secretary Laurence Plummer saying "health comes first."

It’s clear what manager Halsey wants to happen, saying: “If the FA can get this sorted out quickly, and their players have been isolated for 14 days, then why can’t we get the fixture in before the next round on the Tuesday (September 22).

“Even if they said we have to go there on the Monday night and then if we win play the next round on the Tuesday, I would go and do that.

“It is not about us getting an easy ride, it is about a duty of care to my players, their families at home, our supporters and our committee.

“I am not having a dig at Burgess Hill one bit, they have got a problem, like the rest of the world, but the game and the FA need to look at this. It has to be played somehow. We want to play the game and the FA have got to get it sorted.

“There is no way I want a bye. I want to play football.

“There is no reason why they should go through and no reason why we should go through. The game needs to be played and this is all I want, in a safe environment for my players.”

Blair were unwilling to make the trip on Saturday after finding out about the problems late on. They made the final decision as a committee, along with Halsey, on the morning of the game.

There were fears that those players who had tested positive might have already spread the infection to others in the Burgess Hill team and then onto Blair’s men. The SCEFL side are due to play Canterbury on Wednesday.

Mr Plummer said: “We refused to go on the basis that they had positive Covid tests. We contacted the SCEFL league for advice and decided as a duty of care for players and supporters that we wouldn’t travel.”

The Blair club secretary said that his first knowledge of the issues was just before 6pm on the Friday, with information that players had symptoms. The club agreed to attend the fixture on that basis but later on that evening Burgess Hill announced that those players had tested positive for Covid.

Other FA Cup games were also called off at the weekend, with those clubs with positive tests pulling out. It’s now down to the FA to make a decision on what could become a familiar problem as football returns during the crisis.

• Click here for our FA Cup weekend round-up

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