Daggers considering legal action
DAGENHAM & REDBRIDGE managing director Steve Thompson confirmed the club could take legal action against electricity suppliers EDF Energy after their match with Brentford on Monday, due to be televised live on Sky TV, was called off due to a power failure
DAGENHAM & REDBRIDGE managing director Steve Thompson confirmed the club could take legal action against electricity suppliers EDF Energy after their match with Brentford on Monday, due to be televised live on Sky TV, was called off due to a power failure, writes MIKE SIMMONDS.
The lights went out at Victoria Road shortly before kick-off, after an external substation fault and when there was no sign of power fully returning, referee Lee Probert had little option but to call the game off.
The decision could cost Daggers up to �50,000, while the likelihood of the TV company returning in the future, is also in doubt.
"We are going to try and launch a claim, because we have lost around �40,000 because of this, which is a lot to our budget," said Thompson, who has now seen two games at Victoria Road called off due to power failures this season.
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"The story has been on the BBC and in national newspapers, so a large company like EDF will have mediawatch and will be aware of what is going on.
"I have been told to get in contact with them later this week, and hopefully we can work something out, but I'm not holding my breath.
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"Whether Sky will come back to our ground again could well depend on how our investigation into this matter goes."
Whether Daggers will be successful in their claims against EDF appear to look unlikely, after the company released a statement with their version of events.
"We apologise for the inconvenience caused by this incident," it read.
"We do encourage customers who rely on power for essential business or commercial reasons to arrange back-up supplies for times like this.
"Our customer relations team is in direct contact with the club about this matter."
Thompson, though, was angry that EDF hadn't done more to correct the fault when the club made contact on Monday night, as the game might still have gone ahead.
"We phoned EDF and there was a recorded message which said they knew there was a fault in our area and someone would be out in the hour," he said.
"No-one came out though, so we kept trying and eventually got through at around 9pm, to find out that the problem they knew about was unrelated to us, as it was in Ockendon, which happens to have the same postcode.
"The whole matter has just left me feeling shell-shocked if I'm honest."
Daggers will now try to find a re-arranged date for the fixture to take place, and Thompson added: "All the supporters who attended the game will have tickets and they will be valid for the rematch.
"The secretaries from both clubs are liaising to try and find a suitable date for the fixture."
Should Daggers sue EDF for Monday nights debacle? Email: sport@ilfordrecorder.co.uk
The Recorder is now on Twitter, so if you follow twitter.com/Recorder_DagRed then you will get up to the minute updates on goings on at Victoria Road
