Football expulsion - 'What reward is this for hard work of kids?'

There are few things in life more frustrating than those faceless bureaucrats who seem to love nothing more than wrapping up the rest of us in pointless red tape.

You find them in so many organisations, where they find themselves a comfortable niche and rigidly enforce the rules, however ridiculously, for no apparent purpose other than to show their own importance.

So, step forward the Scottish Youth Football Association (SYFA) to accept today's Petty Paper- shuffler Award.

As our report reveals, the SYFA kicked Tynecastle FC's under-13s out of the South East Region Cup because they fielded an ineligible goalkeeper. Its parent body, the Scottish Football Associationm, did the same to East Stirlingshire last week after a Scottish Cup tie versus Buckie.

Rules are rules, of course, and they are there to create a level playing field for every team. But this case has so many mitigating factors it is hard to know where to start listing them.

The club only needed a new keeper because their usual player was in hospital. They DID register him online two days before the game and had the registration acknowledged. And they DID send in a paper form too, but it did not to arrive until after the game was played - and won.

What's more, Tynecastle is a community club run for the fun of it by volunteers, not a professional outfit looking to gain some advantage by cheating their opponents. And the biggest mitigating factor is this: these are kids we are talking about.

What message does it send to reward their hard work, sweat and enthusiasm by dashing their dreams of a cup run, all in the name of keeping some bureaucrat happy?

Cervical checks

THE fall in the number of Lothian women going for cervical cancer screening is a serious concern.

Many will have perfectly understandable reasons for not wanting to have a smear check, including embarrassment and the fear of discomfort. Some may even be unaware of the importance of screening.

But the NHS's prevention programme is a major success story which has saved thousands of lives. Doctors say take-up peaked two years ago when ex-Big Brother contestant Jade Goody urged women - especially young women - to take the chance to catch a disease which would ultimately take her own life.

They fear the "Goody" effect has gone. Locally, numbers fell by two per cent last year, while attendance is lower than the national average.

That is a trend that needs to be reversed, and every parent, husband, friend, son and daughter should urge the women in their lives to heed it.