YORK City chairman Douglas Craig is standing firm over talk of strike action by the Professional Football Association.

The PFA have announced that their members will not play in front of television cameras - whether the match will be broadcasted live or in highlights - from December 1 after talks over the share of television money with the Premier League broke down,

But Craig has said he is still expecting the players contracted to the Minstermen to turn out.

City are due to play at Darlington on that day and if the York players do not turn out, then Craig has said they will be in breach of their contracts and will subsequently not get paid.

"I am not aware of any dispute between the contracted players and the club," said Craig.

"I have not been advised of any problems, nor has the manager. No-one has approached us and said they have got a problem.

"If the players do not turn out they will be in breach of their contracts.

"Each player has an individual contact which they've signed and I've signed on behalf of the club, and if they are in breach of this there are sanctions which can be applied."

Craig said a breach of the players' contracts could lead to a one-week fine, while further breaches, if the strike continues, could be met with a fortnight's fine.

And while players in the Premier League such as David Beckham and Michael Owen earn big money and can probably afford the fines, Craig believes it is those in the lower league that will be hit the hardest.

"The quite tragic thing if the strike takes place, is the players in the lower league will have no money to pay their mortgages," he said.

"It is not like the Premier League where players are earning £50,000 a week. It is the players on £500-£600 a week, a mortgage and a wife and kids who will suffer."

The City chairman feels PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor has spun the situation to his own advantage.

"The only way it will clear up is if Taylor gets some common sense into his head," added Craig, who admits to having had his run-ins with the PFA in the past.

City's PFA representative Nick Richardson, who played in the 2-0 defeat by Swansea last night, was only just waking up to the news this morning when contacted by the Evening Press.

"I'm in full support of the PFA and the way things are preceding," he said. "We are awaiting direction from the PFA and will be taking advice from them. Normally we receive information from them or a visit from a major rep.

"There is an AGM on Monday, so hopefully I be going to that and coming back with more information."

Richardson, who has first-hand experience of the help the PFA can offer from his days at Chester - when players were not getting paid, but the PFA stepped in to help - feels the City game against Darlington will go ahead, but only if the cameras are switched off.

"The only problems players will have is playing in front of the television cameras," he added. "If the cameras are there we will ask them to be switched off, if they aren't we will then not play."

Updated: 15:20 Wednesday, November 21, 2001