News

The league has noticed a recent increase in concerns raised by club officials, parents and referees relating to refereeing in junior football in the Selby & District Junior Football League.

After a recent safeguarding review, youth player names have now been removed from public pages within Full-Time. This is an enhancement to safeguards currently in place across platforms.

These changes apply to Step 5 and below, Women’s Tier 3 and below, and include all cup competitions within these leagues. This initiative aims to bolster the RESPECT programme, reduce dissent, and enhance the match experience for everyone involved.

In 2022, we became the first national association to successfully adopt the International Football Association Board (IFAB) trial to remove deliberate heading in grassroots football matches at U12 level and below.

It's with great regret that I am posting this message. I personally have already had to speak to several clubs directly regarding this matter since the season restarted on 10th September and to put it frankly, I have had enough. Selby & District Junior Football League has now received numerous issues and complaints directly but also from County FA, primarily reporting abuse towards Referees and I know this is a common problem with other local based leagues after speaking to them.I fully understand that referees will make mistakes, they are human but some of the behaviour that is being reported and I have personally witnessed is very disturbing and will not be condoned.As a league committee we are working with the County FA to ensure appropriate disciplinary action is taken against offenders. Clubs will be deducted point to penalise repeat offenders or serious misconduct as we are seeing that disciplinary action isn't having the full desired effect with some. If we continue to receive the same level of reports in the coming weeks, we will take more drastic actions such as postpone all league games for a weekend. This is an action that I absolutely do not want to take, however I will if I feel it is necessary.I know that this is a minority causing these issues but I urge all club officials to work collectively to protect our referees and stamp out this abuse otherwise face the prospect of being deducted points or seeing games postponed until it stops.Please cascade this message to all coaches, club officials, parents & guardians within your club.If anyone has any queries or issues please don't hesitate to reach out to me or any of the Selby & District Junior Football League committee members.

The FA will introduce point deductions for teams across the grassroots game if their players or coaches commit repeated offences of serious misconduct, making clear to clubs that this kind of behaviour will not be tolerated.

Over the years The FA has been asked for advice and guidance to help clubs create fun, safe and inclusive environments.