Exeter City’s match against Lincoln City will go-ahead on Saturday, November 16 despite the international call-ups of three players, Josh Magennis, Ilmari Niskanen and Kamari Doyle.
EFL regulations state, clubs are eligible to request the postponement of a league fixture if they have three or more players called up for international duty. However, to seek the postponement clubs need to request this at least five clear days before the fixture date.
Due to the late call-up from the standby list for Kamari Doyle to the England Under-20 squad, we have been left no choice but to go-ahead with Saturday’s match against Lincoln with a weakened squad.
Manager Gary Caldwell expressed his feelings, stating:
“As the leading supporter owned club in England, we are used to facing the continual financial challenge of competing against much bigger clubs in League One and decisions like this only highlight the constant challenges that smaller clubs like ours face at this level.
“We will continually meet this challenge through our determined squad, our phenomenal academy success and our amazing fans. It is hard enough to compete against these odds without being penalised by rules that no longer seem fit for purpose in the current financial climate of League One, and call into question the sporting integrity of the league overall."
The EFL regulation puts certain clubs at a significant disadvantage, as teams are forced to compete without key players due to the rule not allowing standby list players to count towards the threshold of three international call-ups.
The club urges fans to get behind the team this Saturday and give their full backing in what is going to be a tough match.