Safety first, claims Farnborough boss

Farnborough manager and chairman Graham Westley revealed he asked the Football Association to switch their fourth-round FA Cup date with Arsenal to Highbury because he could not guarantee the safety of Gunners fans.

The Nationwide Conference club’s reward for beating Darlington in round three was a dream tie at home against the Cup holders and Premiership champions.

But Westley decided the club’s tiny Aimita Stadium was not up to the task of hosting such a big game.

He told Sky Sports News: “Arsenal put it to me very nicely last night.

“They said we have 38,000 fans, are your stands up to it? Are ticketing arrangements up to it? Is there the potential for mass disaster on the day and can you give assurances there won’t be? In the end I think it was the only decision to make.

“Personally as the manager and someone in close contact with the players on a day-to-day basis there are all those footballing reasons to play the game at home but they cannot be allowed to cloud a decision of this type.

“We have to be sure people come to our ground and are safe and we couldn’t give that guarantee. We had to hold our hands up.”

Town were guaranteed a £265,000 (€407,000) windfall from Sky had they gone ahead with the tie at the Aimita Stadium but Westley believes the significantly larger crowd expected at Highbury will make up for that.

He added: “The financial aspect of this we have had to consider. There is a huge incentive in that regard – either way round there will be financial incentives.

“At our place the TV money was guaranteed and from a football point of view I would like it to still be televised.”

Westley revealed the FA had offered their support if Farnborough had opted to host the tie, but insisted the governing body had left the decision entirely to the club.

“The FA were very good this morning when I spoke to them,” he said.

“There was an enormous amount of support they would give us if we wanted to host the game but they weren’t going to put us under pressure, either way they would have been behind us.”

Westley knows his Conference side are massive underdogs but is determined to make Arsenal work for their place in the fifth round.

“The last 24 hours have been one huge rollercoaster since the draw was made. The situation took me over and totally dominated me,” he said.

“It’s time for us to get back in charge of ourselves. The lads are totally committed to doing their best on the day. We know we have a massive gap to bridge.

“We are going to do our utmost to get in the best possible shape to try and go nick a draw or do something incredible.”

The FA confirmed this morning they had received the request for Farnborough and are currently considering their decision.