Luton Town Football Club did not hide fans’ famous ‘Betrayed by the FA’ flag during last night’s 4-1 England Under-21 victory over Austria at Kenilworth Road and now the club’s Supporters Trust have called on The Football Association to apologise for the cover-up.
The fan group say they have been told by the football club that it was not the the Hatters’ decision to hide the wording on the flag.
The huge banner has hung in the Main Stand of the Hatters home stadium since 2008, when The FA and The Football League combined to hit Town with a 30-point penalty, which effectively relegated the club out of the Football League before a ball had been kicked in the 2008/09 season.
It is a points penalty that has never since been matched and one that consigned the club to five years in the non-league.
From there, Luton became the first ever club to rise from the Conference to the Premier League, a feat achieved in 10 years, and the flag remained in position in the Main Stand while the watching eyes of the football world saw the Hatters in the top flight.
Now Luton Town Supporters’ Trust have demanded an apology from The FA and a guarantee that no other similar action will take place in other club stadiums for future international matches.
In a statement the fan group have said: “LTST strongly condemns the covering up of the flag and as such we have contacted the football club and have been advised that this was not their decision.
“The FA hired the ground and we understand that when they did so the club insisted that the flag was untouched.
“It turns out that the banner was rolled up shortly before the gates opened. Despite it being unrolled, someone ordered it to be rolled up again.
“LTST therefore calls on the FA to offer Luton supporters a full apology for allowing this action to go ahead and would expect that any future ground hire comes with a guarantee that items within a venue are left untouched.”
The Football Association have been contacted for a response.
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