FRUSTRATED promoter Matt Ford has called for global speedway chiefs get on with deciding Darcy Ward’s fate and dubbed “immoral” his star’s drawn-out waiting game.

Wimborne Road talisman Ward has been suspended from speedway since August 28 having failed an alcohol test in the build up to last season’s Latvian Grand Prix.

The indefinite ban – issued by the Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) – saw the Aussie ace sidelined for Poole’s crunch end-of-season run-in and lose his place in the Grand Prix series having dropped out of the top eight.

Ward had hoped for a verdict this month but this week revealed that the convoluted process was set to drag on beyond the turn of the year with Pirates boss Ford unable to comprehend why.

Ford told the Daily Echo: “I certainly do not want to make an enemy of anyone at the FIM and have a great respect for the organisation but I would urge them to be fair to Darcy Ward as a professional sportsman.

“Everyone deserves a right to earn a wage and clubs in Poland and Sweden realistically need to know what is happening by December otherwise he misses out on contracts.

“Effectively, it is making him unemployable and there are parts of that which are certainly immoral.

“I need to put in place our plans for 2015. I could wait but if he does receive a ban then it leaves us high and dry and I do not know if I can do that.

“Any human being has a right to earn a wage and that right will soon be taken away from him before a decision even gets made.

“It is all too easy to sit back and criticise people above and the sensitivity of this situation is not lost on me but the one thing I cannot understand is the delay.

“Darcy has said nothing untoward during this process. He has got legal representation but I have been kept up to date with what has been sent and saw nothing that was in any way derogatory of the FIM.”

Asked for his view on any potential verdict, Ford added: “It is not for me to be political or to judge the rights and wrongs. Darcy was clearly silly to drink the night before but the one thing I would say in his defence is that he did not partake in any racing.

“I can understand anyone who says a punishment is justified but this is taking too long and it is not just affecting Darcy now – it is having an impact on his employers across the continent.

“I would just urge them not to hang the guy out to dry, give him a fair chance to plan for the future by making a quick decision.”

READ: Darcy Ward: Speedway ban so hard to take but Poole Pirates are pulling me through