Eighth-tier English club forced to call off fixture due to international call-ups

A club in the eighth tier of English football has been forced to call off a fixture due to a number of international call-ups.

Lancing, based in West Sussex , had been due to make the short trip to face Three Bridges in the South East Division of the Isthmian League on Saturday.

Midfielder Knory Scott and forward Luke Robinson have both been called up to the Bermuda squad, though, and will instead be 3,500 miles away facing Dominica in the Concacaf Nations League.

To compound matters, squad MEMBERS Charlie Gibson and Sam Bull will be playing six-a-side for England at the World Minifootball Federation U23 World Cup in Croatia.

“It’s ridiculous for a club at this level,” Lancing chairman Barry Sutton told BBC Sport.

“To have one person called up [Scott, last year] was something we celebrated, but to have four off in the same week is unheard of.”

Lancing sit 20th in the league with four points from their first eight games. The club are playing at their highest level in history having been founded in 1941.

Winger Scott was signed from Hastings last summer and was joined by international colleague Robinson, a former Brighton youth player, ahead of the start of this season.

“Knory is a lovely lad - quiet. You couldn’t hope to meet a nicer guy,” Sutton said. “Luke has been around a lot of clubs at a higher level.

“To have international players is something we’re enormously proud of. We’ve got a Bermuda flag which we hang up behind one of the goals each home game.”