Ebbsfleet United: National League club call off relegation legal challenge
- Published
Ebbsfleet United finished sixth and eighth in the previous two seasons
National League side Ebbsfleet have announced they will not proceed with a legal challenge and will accept being relegated by 0.002 of a point.
The Kent side were 21st in the table when the season was halted in March because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Clubs decided to end the season in June on a points-per-game basis and that dropped Ebbsfleet below Maidenhead.
With play-offs now set to take place in National League South and North, Fleet will be relegated to the sixth tier.
They said in a statement:, external "As all our supporters will know, when the season was prematurely ended our club finished out of the relegation zone and as one of the top form teams in the league.
"Nevertheless, an unweighted points-per-game system saw us moved down one place into the relegation positions by 0.002 of a point.
"This is the leanest mathematical calculation of any club in the UK to be relegated on this system."
Ebbsfleet had won three of their four previous games when the pandemic forced the season to be suspended.
"The decisions on finalising the season have been made under difficult conditions and have been without precedent," the statement continued.
"They have been made with an intent to find a solution for, and to please the vast majority of clubs wherever possible, and unfortunately for Ebbsfleet United we have fallen on the side of the small minority who are severely affected by the outcome.
"To launch a legal challenge and arbitration when 12 fellow member clubs are planning for and hoping to compete in a play-off series, at great cost to them and the league, would be extremely disruptive, and of course would carry no guarantee of any outcome other than further weeks of delays and uncertainty."
Ebbsfleet, who appointed Dennis Kutrieb as their new manager last month, were promoted to the National League from the South division in 2017.
They added: "It is true that relegation will disappoint our supporters, and we are all extremely disappointed to arrive at this reality.
"However, in the context of what the nation has experienced in recent months we must also recognise our blessings of health and well-being."