BASINGSTOKE Town FC say they feel "shortchanged" after a Premier League ruling means they won't receive any compensation for the transfer of star Brody Peart to Brighton and Hove Albion.
As previously reported, 17-year-old Peart made the jump from non-league to the Premier League to join Brighton and Hove Albion.
Fan favourite Peart made his debut for 'Stoke aged 16, last January, with 20 league appearances, netting eight goals in his time with the Dragons - an average of one goal every 74 minutes.
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His impressive form didn't go unnoticed, and he signed for the Seagulls on July 14.
For both the football club and Peart, this was great news.
However, it soon became overshadowed by Premier League Youth Development Rule 345.
The rule meant that Brighton were not required to pay Basingstoke any compensation for the transfer.
As 'Stoke are not a licensed academy or a Premier League or EFL club, and haven’t been relegated from the Football League in the past two years, if Brighton wished to pay a fee, they would need Premier League board permission under rule U.38.
In a statement on the club's website, 'Stoke manager Dan Brownlie said: "When someone sat there and created that rule – I can’t for the life of me work out what issue they ever thought it was solving.
READ MORE: Basingstoke's Brody Peart signs for Premier League Brighton
"Non-league football has been largely recognised as the lifeblood of the professional game. And yet here is another demonstration of it being drained.
"We’re so, so, proud of Brody. We encouraged him towards Brighton. Our issue isn’t with the transfer. But with the Premier League rule that eradicates any protection for clubs like us."
'Stoke chairman Jack Miller said in a statement: "It’s just not right. We’re all in the same game here.
"We all work under the FA, yet the Premier League rules seem to dismiss those that need the protection the most.
"We’re looking at ways to commemorate Brody’s life-long association with us – but we shouldn’t have to.
"Fair compensation could have created something really special. A truly fitting legacy. It’s not fair on our fans that all they’re left with is a memory."
The football club says that "any form of compensation would have allowed for a long-lasting legacy".
It continued: "Bearing in mind that our tangible assets currently consist of a sack of footballs, some cones and a few bibs – the future could have looked a lot brighter with appropriate compensation for our efforts in helping Brody reach his full potential.
"We must stress that our relationship with Brighton and Hove Albion remains a really positive one. We appreciate their need to adhere to the Premier League ruling. And we will all proudly follow Brody’s journey with them."
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