by Roy Pearce
Further to our news item on 5th October, we can now confirm that Call to Arms has indeed been banned from canvassing supporter opinion, leafleting and collecting signatures for our petition by Cardiff Rugby Football Club Ltd.. We received the following e-mail :
As referred to on various web sites I can confirm that I have discussed the issue of leafleting by Call to Arms with several individuals of the trust and informed them that we would not give permission for further leafleting take place after the Leinster match.
This is not, as reported on the web sites, due to "Health and Safety Concerns" but that the content of leaflets and direction of the trust was canvassing support for policies which are not those of the company.Andrew Thomas
Operations Manager
As a trust we have worked hard on numerous projects at CAP and we feel this action by the board is a real slap in the face for us.
Clearly the club’s recent claim to having “canvassed the views and concerns of many supporters” is becoming harder to believe by the minute. We are speaking with supporters every day and the overwhelming majority are appalled and angry with the position taken by the board.
Call to Arms wants what’s best for Cardiff Rugby Football Club Ltd and this latest attempt to gag supporters from airing their views is another in a long line of arrogant actions taken by the board.
They won’t stop our campaign, however. We will still be handing out leaflets, collecting names for our petition and canvassing supporters’ views – but this time on Westgate Street rather than at CAP.
The club needs to understand that they must work with supporters who are their customers rather than to adopt such a authoritarian and arrogant approach.
If the club have nothing to hide, we reiterate our call that they should hold an open meeting with supporters to explain why this move is in the best interested of the club and the region as a whole.
You can read more in our press release, here. Watch out for today's Western Mail and tonight's South Wales Echo which will contain an article on this ban .