Boys cry foul over cup ban

PARENTS have been left furious after a schoolboy football team were kicked out of a under-13s cup competition - because they did not submit the correct paperwork for their goalkeeper.

• Tynecastle FC

The heavy-handed action against Tynecastle FC - the club that produced Scotland goalkeeper Craig Gordon - also saw them fined 75 and ordered to attend the Scottish Youth Football Association's headquarters in Glasgow.

Parents today told how they were stunned to find their children being punished over pointless red tape, while club officials fear a ridiculous level of bureaucracy could threaten their future.

The problem arose because Tynecastle had to draft in an emergency goalkeeper for their third-round SYFA South East Region Cup game with city rivals Spartans.

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The club registered their goalkeeper two days before the clash - which Tynecastle won comfortably - on the Scottish Youth Football Association's new website tool.

But the association claims the online registration had to be accompanied by a physical form sent in the post - a rule the club said made the website pointless.

The club had sent off the paperwork confirming their new signing, but that only arrived at Hampden the Monday after the match had been played and was deemed too late by the SYFA.

The "error" appears similar to the one made by East Stirlingshire in this year's Scottish Cup, which saw them expelled from the tournament after defeating Highland League side Buckie Thistle for also fielding an unregistered goalkeeper.

One parent of a player told the Evening News: "We're disgusted by this, the cup was such an important thing to the boys.

"When you think of the SFA, you picture the 'beaks' and all the red-tape issues over the years - but you wouldn't think it extended to kids."

In the end, neither Tynecastle nor Spartans were allowed to proceed to the next round of the cup and Tynecastle's "goodwill" offer of a replay was also rejected, meaning the team they would have faced in the next round received a bye.

Tynecastle chairman Douglas Dalgleish said: "This club is run by volunteers, and when you are hit by this kind of bureaucracy it drives these helpers away - they wonder what the point is.

"We needed an emergency goalkeeper after our regular was taken to hospital ill.

"In the previous two games we'd played an outfield player in goals, then signed a new 'keeper on the Thursday night.

"First thing on Friday morning I registered him on this SYFA website, then clicked 'submit'. I received confirmation that they received it in Glasgow, and thought that would be that."

A Spartans official is said to have complained to the SYFA, and Tynecastle were eliminated instantly.

They received a 25 fine from the SYFA's east region committee, then a further 50 penalty from the main organisation.

"They said we had a right of appeal, so when we exercised that they came back to say they wouldn't entertain the appeal because it would hold up the competition," Mr Dalgleish added.

Founded in 1928, Tynecastle has produced a string of professional players and has around 350 players on the books.

One parent said that he was "dumbfounded at the way youth football administrators in Scotland work", adding "how can any team be dealt with twice and fined".

A spokesman for the SYFA would only say: "There are registration procedures and the committee decided they had not been implemented."