Dover Athletic’s kitman has received an apology from Barrow AFC manager Ian Evatt and co-owner Tony Shearer after he was abused by an unnamed club official in the aftermath of last Saturday’s postponed match.

Richard Harvey had made his own journey from Kent to Holker Street, only to find out the game would not be going ahead after severe train delays, caused by a death on the line near Milton Keynes, left Dover unable to reach Barrow in time.

With the postponement putting the Bluebirds’ plans for Non-League Day up in smoke, including an anticipated crowd of over 3,000, there was a lot of frustration around the club.

However, Harvey was taken aback when he was abused in the tunnel over a situation he’d had no control over, with the incident leaving him questioning whether he should continue in his role with the Whites.

A message from Evatt, who Harvey has described as being a ‘thorough gentleman’ towards him, the following evening helped sooth his feelings, though.

Harvey told Kent Online: “During the long drive back I was generally fed up, and when I got home I just thought ‘Why am I doing this? There’s more to life than this’, which is why I put out the tweet I did.

“I thought nothing more about it but at 8pm on Sunday my phone went off and it was because Ian Evatt had followed me on Twitter.

“He then sent me a private message saying that he was really sorry if anyone had caused me offence and offered his apologies. He said it was not the way he wanted his club portrayed and told me not to give up the job.”

Evatt’s stance was then backed up by Shearer, who owns a 40 per cent stake in the Bluebirds, after he sent a text to Harvey and followed that up with a phone call.

Harvey said: “We spoke for about 25 minutes and he said how sorry he was that I’d had to endure such a bad experience at his club. He didn’t know that Ian Evatt had also been in touch.

“I just want to move on now but I am grateful to the pair of them for taking the time to contact me. It was a classy gesture and much appreciated.”

Barrow AFC have promised Harvey that they are conducting an internal investigation into the matter.