Stamford friendly called off before half-time amid concerns over the safety of players following a series of ‘poor challenges’

A friendly between Stamford AFC and Grantham Town at the Zeeco Stadium was abandoned before half-time last night (August 27) after the hosts became concerned about the safety of their players.

Stamford were leading 2-0 when players reacted to a poor challenge on a home player. It was one of many tackles Stamford boss Graham Drury took exception to and after a chat with his Grantham counterpart and the referee the game was halted.

A confrontation between the players of Stamford and Grantham. Photo: Daniel Allen.

placeholder image — A confrontation between the players of Stamford and Grantham. Photo: Daniel Allen.

Comments on Twitter suggested there was a mass brawl between all 22 players.

Drury said: “I’ve seen the suggestions there was a mass brawl between the players which is an exaggeration. There had been some poor challenges on my players and then one particularly bad one led to my players reacting and the Grantham players also getting involved.

A Stamford player receives a meaty challenge from a Grantham player. Photo: Daniel Allen.

“It was more like handbags at dawn than a mass confrontation. Players were protecting their teammmates and both managers decided it was better to stop the game and the referee agreed. Fairplay to the Grantham manager for agreeing to this.

“The safety of the players was the most important thing. I took the fixture to do Grantham a favour and I only had 13 fit players to start with. A couple were struggling to carry on when the game was abandoned so calling things off was the right thing to do. We have an FA Cup tie in a couple of weeks.”