Barnet FC chairman Tony Kleanthous has sent a message to Peter Williamson, chairman of Barnet FC Supporters Association, ahead of their meeting on Wednesday clarifying why the central section of the East Terrace was closed following a coin-throwing incident last season.

Five supporters, including members of Mr Williamson's committee, wrote to the chairman about their fears for safety on the terrace.

The full text of the message from the chairman follows:-

" For clarity, I will restate the position and you are welcome to forward my comments: -

Barnet FC believes the segregation on the East Terrace to be absolutely safe and adequate, as has been proven by the arrangements that have been in place for over ten years. In that time we have never experienced any serious issue.

The coin throwing incident of last season was regrettable, but a one-off created by the mindless actions of a few individuals. The problem was compounded by a number of Barnet supporters who chose to stand on the fringe of the segregation area and goad visiting supporters despite persistent requests from stewards to curb their behaviour.

We cannot completely cocoon individual supporters and you, as chairman of the BFCSA, have clearly expressed to us that you would not want this anyway. The association and supporters in general feel the arrangements are quite adequate and this is in line with the risk assessment carried out by our previous and current safety officer.

However five supporters, some of whom incidentally are also members of the BFCSA committee, have written to me to complain that they felt our arrangements were not satisfactory and that their safety was compromised. It seems strange to me that if this is how they felt then why didn't they just choose to stand elsewhere?

Under the circumstances the club felt that, as capacity was not affected, then the simplest most cost effective solution was to just close the central part of the East Terrace.

This has inconvenienced the club and all other supporters but we were only responding to circumstances and the fears expressed in their letter to me. Subsequent conversations with you suggest that they may have now changed their stance somewhat.

As explained in my last conversation, if the BFCSA want to discuss this matter then I am happy to do so and we are scheduled to meet on Wednesday evening. If you, as the organisation representing supporters, want to take this up with your five colleagues then this is also fine as it is easier for us to deal with one representative organisation rather than a number of
individuals.

However, we cannot agree to requests to reopen the centre section of the East Terrace until we have written confirmation from both the BFCSA and those individuals that they are happy with the previous arrangements.

This will always be a more volatile area of the ground due to the close proximity of visiting supporters. It may be best for those individuals to stand elsewhere so as not to feel endangered by any perceived risk to their safety but we are happy to leave this issue for consideration between you.

I hope this clarifies the club's position so as to avoid any misunderstandings on this matter. In the meantime, any supporters wishing to relocate will be accommodated and we will also refund any supporters who are unhappy.

This letter will be published on the website ahead of the meeting so that all supporters are fully aware of the circumstances and the fact that we were only reluctantly responding to fears expressed by your members".