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Following Wednesday's friendly at Mansfield, reporting restrictions were placed on The Gazette.

Our journalist Dominic Shaw was informed by Middlesbrough Football Club he was not welcome to interview manager Garry Monk.



Another Gazette reporter was permitted to speak to Monk, but we decided not to publish that interview.



As an independent publisher, we simply cannot allow any organisation to apply restrictions on our journalism by dictating which of our staff they are happy to field questions from.

This situation is in no way linked to the club clarifying transfer facts earlier this week .



In June the club made clear Shaw and Jonathon Taylor were not welcome at Monk's Rockliffe Park unveiling.



No proper explanation has been provided despite repeated requests from The Gazette for clarification on the reasons.

Other journalists attended Monk's first press conference on behalf of The Gazette while we attempted to resolve any outstanding issues.



It is now clear the club does not wish its employees to engage with certain members of our staff.



It is with deep regret that The Gazette is in this position. We are eager to move on and are looking forward to what should be an exciting season for Teesside.

But as it stands and under the current conditions, The Gazette will not interview the manager or players.

We will of course continue to attend all matches and provide our usual mix of news, comment and analysis.



While the current situation is unfortunate, our aim will always be to act in the best interests of our readers.



Everyone at The Gazette wishes Steve Gibson, Garry Monk and the Boro players all the very best for the forthcoming season.