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FOUL steps up the pressure on Morrells
Oxford United supporters pressure group FOUL (Fighting for Oxford United's Life) is to step up its campaign to get all football supporters to boycott outlets owned by Morrells of Oxford. FOUL is concerned that the Morrells covenant, which prevents outlets within half a mile of the Blackbird public house in Blackbird Leys from selling alcohol, could be the last straw that breaks Kassam's back.
FOUL believes that Morrells threat of an injunction to prevent the completion of the Minchery Farm stadium is unreasonable and contrary to the spirit of the covenant, which was imposed when the estate was first built in 1962. A spokesperson for FOUL said: “We have nothing against Morrells under normal circumstances, but we would similarly have fought anybody else who attacks our football club and was asking for something we believed to be immoral or extortionate. We don't think that Thames Water falls into this category which is why we are not targeting them in the same way."
FOUL believes that if the whole Minchery Farm project is viewed from a purely commercial angle then “nobody would touch it with a barge pole. There have to be emotional arguments because football clubs and their survival don't generally stand up to purely commercial arguments and the workings of free market forces, which dictate that whatever Morrells (or anyone else) can get away with is the right price. A football club generates emotional ties to the local community and when those ties are threatened then that community must join together to overcome those threats. Oxford United's new stadium and its ancillary developments have already faced a number of unusual, if not unique, pressures which would have tried the patience of any club chairman. If Mr. Kassam had to overcome one of these in isolation he would probably plough on, but when viewed together they represent an almost insurmountable obstacle.”
FOUL continues to accept that Mr. Kassam represents Oxford United's best hope of survival and therefore asserts that the local community must unite to fight this latest threat to the club's existence. The most effective way that this can be done is by continuing the boycott of Morrells in as high a profile manner as is legally acceptable. The spokesperson continued: “The main purpose of this boycott is not create a huge dent in the company's finances but to highlight to the wider public that Morrells of Oxford is prepared to put short-term profits ahead of the interests of the community of which it was once a part.”
This Saturday, prior to the home game against Wrexham, FOUL will once again be handing out flyers to spectators urging them to continue the boycott of Morrells. FOUL wishes to reiterate that the campaign is aimed at the company and not at the individual landlords, who have so far been very supportive. There will be a photo-shoot opportunity outside the Royal Standard, a Morrells pub opposite the Manor football ground on London Road, at 1.15pm on Saturday.
ENDS.
