Margate boss Terry Brown has labelled the situation surrounding the delay in staging the Ryman League Premier Division play-off semi-finals as “shambolic”.

The Hartsdown Park club are no nearer knowing when they will play Dulwich Hamlet.
The tie was delayed following a Football Association ruling in the wake of Enfield Town’s three-point deduction for fielding midfielder Aryan Tajbakhsh while suspended, in a game in January.

The north London club finished fifth – the final play-off place – but face being replaced by sixth-placed Met Police, with Enfield’s appeal against the punishment not being heard until Friday.

Brown says he faces losing goalkeeper Nikki Bull and top scorer Ryan Moss who are both due to go on holiday soon, with three or four more players due to follow later this month.

He said: “It is a shambolic affair, and I don’t think it would have been handled in the same way if a Football League club had been involved. There would have been pandemonium.

“It should have been dealt with when it occurred, Enfield wouldn’t have complained if they had been deducted three points, but it has been pushed under the carpet, and it has now backfired.”

He added: “All five teams are in a state of limbo. They are still having to pay players and that is a tidy sum even for a club like ours with resources.

“We always encourage players to take their holidays as soon as the season is over. Some have very good jobs, and can’t just change their plans, and the whole thing has created awful problems.”