BANGOR City have been suspended by the Football Association of Wales with immediate effect.

The governing body’s head of competitions Andrew Howard informed Citizens’ officials of the news on Monday, August 5, with an arbitration date regarding their appeal on a 21-point deduction and an addition charge relating to an ineligible player turning out against Prestatyn Town in the Huws Gray Alliance last term scheduled for August 16.

The suspension can last up to seven calendar days following the arbitration ruling, and The Chronicle understands that both cases will be heard during the hearing.

As reported by the Chronicle last week, clubs that would be affected by any formal conclusion to the long-running saga have also had their fixtures suspended, with Holywell Town and Llandyrnog United also finding out their short-term fate at the same time.

A statement from the FAW, read: "The Directors shall have power to suspend the playing of Association Football at all or any club or ground within its jurisdiction at such times and for such duration as the Directors shall see fit.

“Notwithstanding any provision contained in Rule 138.1, the Directors shall have the power to extend or diminish the period of the playing season in any year or at any time, when such a course shall seem to it to be necessary or desirable.

"All contracts or agreements between clubs, Players or any other party or between any or all of them shall be modified (if necessary) to take account of the effect of any decision of the Directors which may be made from time to time under the provisions of this Rule."

A Bangor City spokesman stated that chairman/manager Stephen Vaughan Jr will “continue to prepare for the season ahead” whilst awaiting the outcome of the hearing.

Their JD Cymru North opener at Colwyn Bay will be the first fixture to fall victim to the suspension, which also hampers the Seagulls’ preparations for their return to the Welsh pyramid system following a 35-year absence.

This is the latest in a series of off-the-field concerns relating to the club in recent years, which has seen the club fall from JD Cymru Premier runners-up to facing the prospect of third-tier football in the space of two seasons.