RIVAL chairmen Jack Kirkland and Eric Whalley are standing united against the decision to allow Conference rejects Barrow into the UniBond Premier Division.

Chorley chairman Kirkland and Stanley supremo Whalley were among six UniBond chairmen who voted against the Cumbrians in a stormy Special General Meeting at Flixton FC on Sunday.

And although the Bluebirds finally gained the two-thirds majority necessary to win a place, there were angry scenes as club officials voiced their opposition to admitting a club in liquidation.

That outcome has provoked a furious response from Kirkland, who claims the UniBond League should have called the FA's bluff.

"It wasn't a vote on whether or not we accepted Barrow, it was a vote on whether or not we played football again," blasted Kirkland.

"The FA have held a gun to our heads and the whole outcome is diabolical.

"But that's because the whole thing got into the political arena.

"From what I can gather, Tony Banks and the Junior Health Minister, who's the MP for Barrow, both got involved and they held a meeting with the FA at the Commons.

"But Eric and I both wanted to call the FA's bluff.

"I don't think they would have carried out their threat.

"And if they did then we could have gone to the Tories." Barrow were originally excluded from the Nationwide Conference on financial grounds at the end of last season.

But after taking their case to the Football Association, they were then treated as a relegated club, despite finishing one place above the official drop zone.

That meant they were eligible to join the UniBond League, who were then warned by the FA that their fixtures would be suspended if they refused to admit the Bluebirds.

But Kirkland feels particularly aggrieved after he was part of a consortium which saved Chorley from extinction in 1994.

They had to pay a six-figure sum to clear off the club's debts in order to carry on operating at UniBond League level.

"We were sent for by the FA and had to go down to London and guarantee to pay off all our creditors," said Kirkland.

"But we were in receivership, Barrow are in liquidation."

Whalley was also incensed by Barrow's inclusion.

And Stanley officials have already sent a letter to the league voicing their disappointment at the outcome of the situation.

"When Accrington Stanley went under in the 1960s nobody came to their rescue," said Whalley.

"And the same happened with Aldershot and Newport who also had to start again right at the bottom.

"But the government has basically told the FA they had to let Barrow get back into the UniBond.

"So it's no wonder why Jack Kirkland is so upset because he put a lot of money into Chorley to keep the club afloat.

"Barrow have crept out of a similar situation about five times in the last 10 years. "And it will probably happen to them again in two years time because if they don't start winning matches they soon start losing money.

"You have to feel some sympathy with the people of Barrow but, at the end of the day, they are a club in liquidation and the new liquidator has become the club secretary.

"But the government and the FA shouldn't be getting involved in somebody else's constitution.

"I've had to attend meetings on three separate Sunday's this year to vote on the UniBond League's constitution. And as far as I'm concerned that's a waste of three days of my life."

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