A FOOTBALL club has been temporarily banned by the Football Association from wearing its recently-launched sponsored football kit.

Bedale Town Association Football Club, based in North Yorkshire, recently released its eye-opening Heck Food sponsored sausage-kit.

However, the kits, which also raise money for Prostate Cancer UK and display the charity's logo, have been temporarily suspended for use in all friendly games and league games.

The suspension will be in place while the FA decides on whether the kit conforms to their guidelines, rules and regulations.

Bedale AFC club chairman, Martyn Coombs said the club had succesfully worn two previous sausage kits in 2017 and 2018, and that there had been no suspicion they had contravened FA regulations.

He said: "The whole point of the three kits has always been to raise awareness for Prostate Cancer and to hopefully, raise some much-needed money for this wonderful charity.

"The front of the kit bears the ‘Supporting Prostate Cancer’ logo in memory of a dear friend who died in November 2014 and also the father of Andrew Keeble, the founder of Heck Food who also lost his life to this terrible illness."

"Alongside our marketing company, we study the FA guidelines very carefully to ensure we are within the Law.

"We know that the kit does not show anything distasteful, threatening, abusive, indecent, insulting, discriminatory or otherwise ethically or morally offensive message and no colour or design is used that could create problems of identification for match officials and/or opponents.

"The HECK logo on the front is the only advertising and it does not exceed 250 square centimetres on the front of the shirt, specified in the rules and regulations."

Mr Coombs said he now hoped the FA would agree to allow the team to wear the new kit, despite being told the 'Sausage' kit can only be worn when there is a colour clash with the home team. He said the club had been left in limbo.

He added: "As well as cycling three Football to Amsterdam bike rides and organising fundraising dinners, as part of Team Garby, the club have raised £178,483.96 towards their £250,000 target, a remarkable achievement and something the club are proud of.

"Once again, they have partnered with Shane Jackson of historicfootballshirts.co.uk to sell the kit on their behalf, with £5 from every sale going to Prostate Cancer.

"Up until two days ago, they have sold 118 shirts and 20 pairs of shorts and socks raising £590 for Prostate Cancer."