PENRYN Athletic manager Harry Pope says he did not see the point in the Football Association’s decision to null and void the non-league football season.

Following a series of meetings between the FA and key figures of non-league football last week, the FA declared on Thursday that all results from the 2019/20 season in steps 3 to 6 of the National League System have been expunged.

The decision was made after all football was suspended on March 16 following the coronavirus outbreak.

The FA confirmed that its decision also extends to clubs and leagues at step 7, meaning Penryn’s fine season, in which they have sat top of the St Piran League West for almost the entire season, will be wiped from the history books.

READ MORE: South West Peninsula League Season declared null and void

Pope said: “There’s way more important things going on at the minute, obviously with all of this stuff football is irrelevant, but it was a bit frustrating to hear that they decided to just write it off.

“I personally think they didn’t need to do anything yet because we don’t know when we’re going to go back to normality. We don’t whether its going to be three weeks or six months.

“For me I just would have thought it would have made sense to just wait until w can go back to normality because now they’ve cancelled this season were waiting for the next one and we don’t know when that’s going to start.

“Is that going to start in August? Are we going to not start again until December and have a five-month season? Is that going to be null and void as well? It seems wrong moaning about football for a start, but for me I just didn’t see the point in ending it all.”

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The season had been a fine one for Pope’s side up until the suspension, with Athletic sitting a point clear at the top of the division with a game in hand over several sides.

Penryn were also one of just two teams in the St Piran League – with Hayle the other – to have applied for promotion to the South West Peninsula League, which will now also have to be deferred for another year.

With Athletic seven points clear of third-placed Illogan RBL and with a game in hand with only eight games to play, they seemed destined to reach Step 6 for the first time in the club’s history, but that dream will now have to be put on hold for at least 12 months.

READ MORE: To null and void the season is 'probably the only fair outcome' says Falmouth Town boss

“That’s the most frustrating thing,” Pope said. “I keep saying it, and it is true, there are more important things out here and it seems wrong to be having a whinge about football, but when all of this hopefully comes and goes and we’re all back to normality it would be nice to still have that opportunity to finish the job that we started.

“I am slightly biased because we’re top, but we earned that position and we wanted to try and kick on and finish the season and get that promotion, but it doesn’t look its going to be possible now and we’ll have to try again next year.”

He added: “We’ve had some good results and we put a couple of good runs together over the year. We’ve had a lot of people, and not just in my team and club as I’m sure everybody is the same, working so hard throughout the season on all manner of levels on and off the pitch, and it just all seems to have just been a complete waste over a decision that seemed rushed and also didn’t seem necessary.”