The Football League are still awaiting a response from Stevenage after writing to them to ask for answers to allegations from rival clubs that they systematically feign injury in order to create time-outs during matches.
Oxford United were among the clubs who believe that Stevenage’s players have faked injury about half an hour into games so that the manager, Graham Westley, can give team talks and the players can take on fluids during the stoppage.
In Oxford’s game at the Lamex Stadium on February 15, Lawrie Wilson went down after 30 minutes to get the physio on and cause a stoppage, and in last week’s return fixture at the Kassam Stadium, it was Peter Winn, again on 30 minutes.
United boss Chris Wilder last week urged the authorities to step in and take some action.
Westley would not be drawn into discussing what exactly the League have asked his club to do.
“The Football League wrote a letter to the club, but I’m not familiar with the contents,” he said.
“They wrote to the chief executive.
“I think the League were asking the club to keep an eye on two or three things which we’ll keep an eye on.”
Asked if he denied the claims, Westley told The Times: “The Football League asked the club to be mindful of certain aspects of the spirit of the game. There’s no specific criticisms in there.
“Last week we played a game against Oxford and they were vociferous about the fact that one of our players had gone down and they criticised us for it. The player had been out injured the week before. He went down for some treatment.
“They seemed to have it in mind that it was a tactic rather than a treatment need. One or two players wandered over and got a drink.
“Every time that one of our players goes down, every time that one of the opposition players goes down, our players take fuel. The facts are there for people to go and look at. All the tittle-tattle we’ll leave to one side.”
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