Chesterfield apologise for streaming issues against Hartlepool United and offer fans chance to watch Woking match for free

With no supporters allowed inside stadiums due to current Covid-19 regulations, many non-league clubs are streaming matches online.

Spireites fans paid £10 to watch the first game of the season against Hartlepool online - but many missed the first half action because Chesterfield’s website crashed - and it is still down now.

The club is now in discussion with the website host to find out why this happened and has apologised.

“No responsibility can be attached” to the streaming provider, the club said.

“A leading web hosting company, providing a premium service package to the club, have so far been unable to determine why an abnormally high number of hits caused the website to crash,” a club statement read.

“The figure should have been in single-figure thousands, and yet peaked at hundreds of thousands, which cannot be explained at this time.

“New equipment was installed and the stream was tested thoroughly in the days leading up to the game and no responsibility can be attached to those who provided the service.

“A solution for the streaming of Saturday’s game against Woking is being put in place, utilising an external platform to avoid a similar problem.

“Those who paid for the stream will be offered a free stream of the Woking match by way of apology for the frustration they experienced. An email will be sent tomorrow to explain how this will work.

“Many of those who were fortunate enough to be able to watch the stream have provided positive feedback about the quality of the coverage, including action replays.

“We offer our sincere apologies to those who were affected by the issues experienced when trying to watch the stream.

“We thank supporters for their patience and understanding.”