by Kevin Redsull

Canterbury City have put on hold a threat to take legal action over their failed bid to join the Molten East Kent Youth League.

The club’s solicitors had sent a Letter of Claim to the EKYL committee at the end of last week which stated that "unless matters can be satisfactorily resolved so far as CCFC is concerned by no later than 4pm on Tuesday (July 3) then we will have no option but to issue High Court proceedings."

City’s application to enter several teams in the EKYL was voted out by the league’s existing clubs at last month’s annual meeting amid accusations of "poaching" of other teams’ players and coaches, a charge which City chairman Tim Clark has strongly denied.

And Mr Clark (pictured) said that EKYL officials had been in touch requesting more time to consider their position after City had threatened to take out an interim High Court injunction preventing the league from starting its fixtures on time next season.

Mr Clark said: "We are pleased to say that further time is now afforded to both parties to resolve matters without recourse to any form of legal action, which has always remained a last resort for the club, and we are hoping to have talks in the next few days.

"All we have wanted to do is engage with the League committee over what happened at the AGM. Now we have a window of opportunity to do just that and I extend a genuine invitation to meet up and let’s see where misunderstandings arose and how those can be reconciled."

Mr Clark also confirmed that City had decided to enter a number of teams in the Ashford & District Youth League next season, adding: "We have a 100-plus kids signed up with us who want to play football next season and so we have successfully applied to enter up to seven teams in the Ashford League.

"But we also want to have some teams in the East Kent Youth League as well, which we see as being our natural home, and we remain determined to achieve that goal"