The British Foosball Association would like to take a moment to publicly apologise to Dave Perrott for the way a serious incident at the 2006 Havelock tournament was mishandled.
During one of Dave’s matches at the event, a player on the opposing team directed an intimidating threat towards the referee regarding a disputed call. This incident disrupted the match and had a detrimental impact on Dave’s subsequent performance. Although at the time the BFA investigated the matter and issued a warning letter to the offending player, Dave felt – and we now agree – that this response was not nearly sufficient.
With no effective grievance process in place, there was no further avenue for Dave to pursue his concerns. The outcome was that he walked away from UK foosball permanently, to everyone’s loss.
We now recognise that this was a significant failure. Today under our current standards such behaviour would carry a much stronger penalty, including a ban. Although we cannot change the past, we want to state clearly and publicly, we are sorry. It should not have taken so long for this to be properly acknowledged.
The BFA formally apologised to Dave directly in early 2024, and our original intention was to publish our apology in our next newsletter. However, as we have not produced a newsletter since last year, the public side of this apology is long overdue. We are now posting it on social media to ensure the apology is visible, as it always should have been.
We are also deeply grateful for Dave’s past contributions to UK foosball, both as a top-level competitor and as someone who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to support the sport’s growth at a critical time. We would be delighted to welcome him back to the table if he ever feels ready.
The British Foosball Association
17 July 2025