AFC Wimbledon co-founder Ivor Heller wants FA chairman Mark Bullingham to apologize and order MK to remove the “Dons” from its name.
AFC Wimbledon and Milton Keynes will meet on Thursday night for the first time since January 2025 when the tie ended 0-0.
He demanded that Bullingham apologize for allowing the “crime of the century” to happen, while also revealing that AFC Wimbledon wanted to be called by a different name before being snubbed by the FA.
AFC Wimbledon co-founder claims club wanted to use different name but was snubbed by FA
— “The Sun Football News” ⚽ (@TheSunFootball) September 16, 2026
It is reported the sunIvor Heller wrote in a letter to Mark Bullingham:
“Dear Mark,
“In 2002, your organization made the most disastrous decision in the history of our country’s sport. An FA-appointed committee allowed our club Wimbledon to relocate to a town 70 miles from its natural home.
“This decision causes immeasurable harm to the community of Wimbledon, where a football club has played matches since 1889.
“I am writing now to assure you that the damage is not gone. While time may not be turned back, you will at least have time to repair some of the damage.”
“First, I respectfully ask that you consider issuing a formal apology.
“Despite the untold suffering caused by your committee’s decisions, it has never shown the slightest sign of remorse, regret or remorse.
“Another thing that I find very offensive is that they continue to use our historical abbreviation of ‘Dons’.
“There is no logical reason for this: it is deeply offensive, provocative, a constant reminder of your evil decisions, and a constant cause of tension.
“Forcing the club in Milton Keynes to remove Dons’ name from theirs will restore some calm and common sense.
“In summary, the pain your organization caused on May 28, 2002 can only be solved if you are willing to address the root causes.
“Everyone knows that a grave injustice has been done to our club and a simple apology would be a big step in righting that wrong. Returning our initials to its rightful, natural and historical owners would be another step towards a more conciliatory relationship.
“In fact, I would say these modest actions are in the wider interests of football.
“your,
“Ivor Heller,”
“Co-founder of AFC Wimbledon”
According to The Sun, he also said: “They might as well call themselves MK Coco Clowns, or whatever they want to call themselves. Because it makes no sense.
“When we first set up the club in 2002 we went to the London Football Association and asked for the club to be named Royal Wimbledon. We were refused outright.
“Why on earth didn’t MK reject Dons outright? This has absolutely no historical relationship with Milton Keynes.
“If they want to correct what happened with Infantino, I think they should put their own house in order first and then correct what happened to us.
“I’m not asking for them to be denied, although I don’t think they should exist, but now they are there.
“We’re not going to change that. But applying pressure and finding a way to change the name means we can all move on and forget about it and get on with our football lives.
He added: “They are a city now. I think it suits them very well. They are a city known for a lot of roundabouts, which is great and good for them.
“Milton Keynes Football Club or Milton Keynes City, that would be better.”
Read more of what he had to say, including the video in the article below…
AFC Wimbledon co-founder claims club wanted to use different name but was snubbed by FA
— “The Sun Football News” ⚽ (@TheSunFootball) September 16, 2026
Andros Townsend calls MK Dons a ‘franchise’ during ITV World Cup match commentary
In 2012, AFC Wimbledon chief executive Eric Samuelson told sky sports news: “If (Winkelmann) reaches out to me, as long as there’s a letter in there saying they agree what they’re doing is wrong and they’re going to drop the Downs name, I’m going to drop it. Otherwise I think we’ll move on.
“It’s up to them. I think it reminds them and everyone of their origins. They really don’t have much to do with Wimbledon but that’s their decision, not mine.
“I’m not going to advocate for it, I think it’s the better thing to do, but it’s up to them to decide.”
Also in 2012, then-MK Dons chairman Pete Winkelman told BBC Look East He would not drop the “Dons” from MK’s name but did speak of his regrets and was not proud of the move, saying it was not “the best idea in the world to move a football club”.
When interviewed, he stated that according to sky sports“I stand here today extremely proud of the home of football we have built in Milton Keynes.
“But I’m not proud of the way this club is going and that’s hard for me to live with.
“Relocating a football club may not be the best idea in the world and as a current owner and chairman of a football club I certainly understand that.
“But the way people imagine things happen is very different from the way it actually happens.
“We had a deal with a Norwegian billionaire and when they were looking to move the club to Dublin, maybe we made the mistake of giving them Milton Keynes as an option because I naively thought it might be better.
“The administrator said ‘tomorrow I will liquidate this football club unless you come up with enough money to keep it going’.
“The only way I could come up with the money to keep it going was to move it to Milton Keynes.
“While we may have had a controversial start, just look at what we have accomplished over the past eight years.
“No other football club has a story like this, the story of Wimbledon Football Club.
“It gave birth to the country’s most successful fan-owned club and one of the country’s biggest and brightest new football clubs.
“I hope the rest of the football community can see this and I hope people can see the amazing things that Wimbledon Football Club, the two clubs – AFC Wimbledon and Milton Keynes Dons – bring to the table.
“It’s not just us who are successful, look at what AFC Wimbledon have achieved. They will face us as a Football League club.
“There’s already a lot of water under the bridge and this draw will hopefully make us all start looking forward, not back.”
2018, EFL drop charges AFC Wimbledon have refused to use MK Dons’ full name.
