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Forest Green owner Dale Vince admitted to talkSPORT that he funded the ‘Just Stop Oil’ protesters who targeted Premier League matches earlier this month.
Everton’s 1-0 win over Newcastle was halted after a protester attached his neck to one of the goalposts with a cable tie.
Games between Arsenal and Liverpool and Wolves and Leeds were also targeted, but protesters were stopped by stewards before they could stop the game and the same happened in Tottenham’s win over West Ham.
And Vince, who has turned League Two side Forest Green into the world’s first carbon-neutral football club, says he has had a hand in the ‘Just Stop Oil’ protests and is ‘completely behind’ the campaign.
“I think any stage is the right stage, from a protester’s point of view,” Vince told talkSPORT.
“What you’re looking to do is bring attention to the issue and also bring some disruption because if you don’t shake the ‘life as usual’ mentality, then you don’t get people thinking about these bigger issues that need dealing with.”
He added: “I had a chat a few weeks ago with the people that founded this, they live in Stroud, and they reached out and said, ‘We’ve started a new campaign, will you help us with a bit of cash?’
“What they didn’t say to me, was that they were planning on disrupting football matches, which I found amusing!
“It’s amusing to me that I have my fingerprints on this, accidentally.
“But it’s a campaign I’m completely behind – we’ve got to stop the exploration and production of oil.
“We’ve got to move into renewable energy, it’s such an urgent issue. So, I said, ‘Sure, I can help out’, and I did.”
“They haven’t asked for any more money,” Vince added. “I think it was around £10,000 to get them going. I don’t know if they need a lot of money.
“I support their aims and I don’t really have a problem with what they’re doing, as long as it’s non-violent protests.
“Disruption is part of the parcel of protests, it’s how you draw attention to these really big issues.
“Transcend football, transcend most aspects of life.”
Former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan wasn’t satisfied with Vince’s explanation, however, and called on the FA to charge the League Two chairman with ‘bringing the game into disrepute.’
Jordan responded: “I think it’s okay being a bit smug, Dale, but I’d like the game to perhaps charge you with bringing the game into disrepute.
“Games have been disrupted because you’ve funded a bunch of idiots.
“But the bottom line is, no one is missing this message.”
Vince wasn’t too worried about a possible charge, though.
“I’d be surprised actually if that was a thing. I know Simon just mentioned it but I doubt it’s rooted in much reality, quite frankly, not wishing to be insulting,” he added.
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