admira Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 Director reeling from ‘shameful farce’ of bogus raffle competition at football club A major figure at Chesterfield FC has been sacked in disgrace after it was revealed that the club created a bogus winner for its raffle competition. The Sky Bet League One club apologised to fans in a statement on Tuesday and commercial manager Kevin Fitzgerald has departed in disgrace after an internal investigation, prompted by a tip-off, revealed he had invented a bogus winner of a raffle, for which only four tickets had been sold. The winning prize was a trip for two to join up with Chesterfield’s pre-season training camp in Hungary earlier this month. Fans got in touch to ask who had won the prize and the club then announced the supposed winner, Surrey-based James Higgins, on their official website. They later wished him a “get well” message in a post online saying the winner could not make the trip due to illness. Fans then questioned why the club was offering refunds for the competition after announcing a ‘winner’ had been chosen. Spireites director Ashley Carson said in a statement released on the club’s website on Wednesday: “I am still reeling from the shameful incident that has attracted nationwide headlines for the football club for all the wrong reasons. “After a thorough internal investigation, I can now confirm that the person responsible for this total farce has now left the football club. “Kevin Fitzgerald has been a hardworking, respected, likeable employee who has, for some reason, made a massive error of judgement and has subsequently paid the consequences for his actions. “The board were unaware of his actions and have taken swift action after uncovering the truth. “I do hope that we can look for a replacement to head our commercial department, move forward and pick up the pieces from the whole sorry mess. “Finally, I want to confirm that all other lotteries/raffles run by the club, which are so valuable to providing funds, are in no way affected by this isolated incident.” Carson had been personally tipped off by a supporter who had concerns about the competition. The club declared the competition winner on their website on July 14 and the announcement read: “Spare a thought for Surrey-based Spireite James Higgins, who won the raffle for a couple of places on the club’s pre-season training camp in Hungary. “James was due to fly out with the party last weekend, but illness prevented him from travelling. It was hoped that he and a friend would be able to travel a few days later in time to watch Wednesday’s practice match against Limassol, but he failed to recover in time. “James, who is naturally very disappointed to have missed out on the trip, will be invited to a game during the forthcoming season as a guest of the club and be treated to hospitality. “As a gesture of goodwill, all those who entered the raffle are entitled to a refund. Please contact the club to make the necessary arrangements.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cisse Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 How can anyone do something so stupid ? Had to know he would get caught. Also I can't understand how it is possible to sell only four raffle tickets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sith Happens Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 1 hour ago, admira said: Director reeling from ‘shameful farce’ of bogus raffle competition at football club A major figure at Chesterfield FC has been sacked in disgrace after it was revealed that the club created a bogus winner for its raffle competition. The Sky Bet League One club apologised to fans in a statement on Tuesday and commercial manager Kevin Fitzgerald has departed in disgrace after an internal investigation, prompted by a tip-off, revealed he had invented a bogus winner of a raffle, for which only four tickets had been sold. The winning prize was a trip for two to join up with Chesterfield’s pre-season training camp in Hungary earlier this month. Fans got in touch to ask who had won the prize and the club then announced the supposed winner, Surrey-based James Higgins, on their official website. They later wished him a “get well” message in a post online saying the winner could not make the trip due to illness. Fans then questioned why the club was offering refunds for the competition after announcing a ‘winner’ had been chosen. Spireites director Ashley Carson said in a statement released on the club’s website on Wednesday: “I am still reeling from the shameful incident that has attracted nationwide headlines for the football club for all the wrong reasons. “After a thorough internal investigation, I can now confirm that the person responsible for this total farce has now left the football club. “Kevin Fitzgerald has been a hardworking, respected, likeable employee who has, for some reason, made a massive error of judgement and has subsequently paid the consequences for his actions. “The board were unaware of his actions and have taken swift action after uncovering the truth. “I do hope that we can look for a replacement to head our commercial department, move forward and pick up the pieces from the whole sorry mess. “Finally, I want to confirm that all other lotteries/raffles run by the club, which are so valuable to providing funds, are in no way affected by this isolated incident.” Carson had been personally tipped off by a supporter who had concerns about the competition. The club declared the competition winner on their website on July 14 and the announcement read: “Spare a thought for Surrey-based Spireite James Higgins, who won the raffle for a couple of places on the club’s pre-season training camp in Hungary. “James was due to fly out with the party last weekend, but illness prevented him from travelling. It was hoped that he and a friend would be able to travel a few days later in time to watch Wednesday’s practice match against Limassol, but he failed to recover in time. “James, who is naturally very disappointed to have missed out on the trip, will be invited to a game during the forthcoming season as a guest of the club and be treated to hospitality. “As a gesture of goodwill, all those who entered the raffle are entitled to a refund. Please contact the club to make the necessary arrangements.” Smacks of throwing him under the bus to me. Surely the proffesional approach if he alone has made an error of judgement is to deal with it behind closed doors and only confirm publicly that someone has been dismissed etc...no need to name him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spanish Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 1 hour ago, Cisse said: How can anyone do something so stupid ? Had to know he would get caught. Also I can't understand how it is possible to sell only four raffle tickets. thought he had a great idea but for some reason nobody saw it as an opportunity. it was the next step to cover it up that was more the problem, can you imagine, "hey bosses I had a great idea for a raffle we made £10 but we are committed to spending £1k on the winner" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyinLiverpool Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 Isn't there a Father Ted episode along the same lines? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaguarRam Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 Just have some t&c's when people enter that the prize can be withdrawn at any time. Not rocket science Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chezzyram Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 On 7/22/2016 at 14:50, Cisse said: How can anyone do something so stupid ? Had to know he would get caught. Also I can't understand how it is possible to sell only four raffle tickets. The tickets were £20 each so there wasn't much of a rush to buy them. This was just the latest in a list of events that is seeing the club become increasingly disengaged from it's supporters. A lot of fans are disillusioned with the way the club is being run and what is seen as a lack of investment, players have left the club and have been replaced with signings from non league clubs. The Ched Evans signing has predictably split opinion with some fans returning season tickets and one of the major sponsors pulling out. Supporters are also angry that the popular, award winning groundsman has been sacked and all the ground maintenance contracted out. I can see them struggling in the league this season and attendances declining badly, which is a shame because you want to see local clubs succeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sith Happens Posted July 24, 2016 Share Posted July 24, 2016 10 hours ago, chezzyram said: The tickets were £20 each so there wasn't much of a rush to buy them. This was just the latest in a list of events that is seeing the club become increasingly disengaged from it's supporters. A lot of fans are disillusioned with the way the club is being run and what is seen as a lack of investment, players have left the club and have been replaced with signings from non league clubs. The Ched Evans signing has predictably split opinion with some fans returning season tickets and one of the major sponsors pulling out. Supporters are also angry that the popular, award winning groundsman has been sacked and all the ground maintenance contracted out. I can see them struggling in the league this season and attendances declining badly, which is a shame because you want to see local clubs succeed. The ched evans one is a strange thing to announce. Considering he hasnt played for a while now, i would have thought it best for them to keep it under wraps until after the re-trial. If he is tried again and found guilty again is there any clause in the contract so that they can terminate? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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