Football league in U-turn over junior match results

A junior football league in Shropshire which stopped publishing match results in order to avoid embarrassing the children has made a U-turn on the decision.

The Telford Junior League, which has more than 2,000 players from clubs in Telford, north Shropshire and Bridgnorth, came under fire for listing all results as 1-0 wins or 1-1 draws.

The league claimed to be keeping to Football Association guidelines in withholding the true scores from its matches to spare the blushes of players aged between nine and 16.

Now it has agreed to go back to giving proper results on its website after the FA said it had no rules requiring scores to be changed.

Shropshire Football Association said: "Following a meeting between the league management committee and Shropshire FA vice-chairman David Simpson, it has been recommended to the league by the Shropshire FA that in the interim, before a meeting of the league management and member clubs to discuss future policy of reporting results, the correct scores be reported."

Keith Davies, from the league, said: "We were trialling this and looking at it for the development of football. We talked to the clubs before we started it but we are holding a meeting on Sunday evening where things will be decided."

A spokesman for the FA said: "Across all age groups, there are no rules, sanctions or FA guidelines which indicate that the final score should be changed."

A parent, who complained about the scores being withheld, welcomed the move.