By Graham Huband

THE PRESIDENT of Dundee and District Youth League said yesterday he was ready to come down “like a ton of bricks” on troublemakers who risk bringing football in the city into disrepute.

Jim Falconer said the league would use all the disciplinary sanctions available to it to ensure order was kept at games and that outside influences did not adversely affect city youngsters enjoying their football.

Mr Falconer was commenting after a number of youth fixtures were disrupted in recent weeks following allegedly abusive incidents towards officials.

In the past four days alone, an under-nines match between Celtic Boys and Dundee United Social Club and an under-13s match between Celtic Boys and a Brechin side were both abandoned.

The circumstances in each case have been disputed, but the latter fixture was eventually played to a finish at Lochee Park on Tuesday night.

At the start of the month, police were called to an under-13s girls match between St Johnstone and Tayside Celtic—who are not affiliated to Celtic Boys—in Perth.

Mr Falconer said the league, which has more than 200 affiliated teams and represents some 3500 youth players, would await reports before deciding whether any disciplinary action was necessary.

However, Mr Falconer said clubs and officials who were found to have caused problems in the past had been dealt with “very severely” and said the league was willing to do the same again to eradicate incidents involving inappropriate behaviour.

He said the league’s disciplinary committee—which has the power to expel or refer serious matters to the national governing body—had met on Monday and letters were being sent to “some clubs” as a result.

Mr Falconer said, “We are talking about a small percentage of this league. As a committee we have got to sort the ones who are misbehaving and encourage the kids to play football.

“Most teams in our league abide by our rule, but there is this small minority and we have to deal with it.

“We are not trying to hide anything. I want to make it quite clear that as a committee we are tying to deal with all these matters and we are trying to sort the problems out.”

He continued, “My concern is the discipline and language of some of the spectators. Referees get an awful abuse and I feel it is very inappropriate as we cannot do without refs.

“Managers who are misbehaving and are not going to abide by the rules—I can assure you they won’t be allowed to run teams. They are not suitable.”

Celtic Boys secretary Jim Small yesterday denied there was an indiscipline problem inherent amongst members of his club.

He said, “There is no problem, and if there was a problem we would deal with it as a club. We don’t have indiscipline. If we do we deal with it.”