'Mollycoddling' football chiefs castigated for pulling kids results

The English Youth FA said that "one sided score lines can act as a disincentive to continue playing for many children".

Football chiefs have been castigated for pulling the results of kids matches out of local newspapers.

The English Youth FA said that "one sided score lines can act as a disincentive to continue playing for many children." The ruling, which covers under-seven to under-11 teams, applies to newspaper stories, club and league websites, and social media channels, the Telegraph reported.

The paper described the officials as "killjoy" and "mollycoddling" and quoted parents who were opposed to the decision.

A Surrey dad told the paper: "...nothing's ever been put in the paper that is defamatory about the other teams.

"...it buoys my son a little bit and raises his confidence. As long as things are friendly and they are not derogatory.

"It's human nature that you are never going to go through life winning everything."

An FA spokesman said they had consulted young players, parents, coaches, clubs and volunteers and were making decisions to promote the "long term development of players."

"Our aspiration is to ensure that a progressive, child-friendly approach pervades and we challenge the win-at-all-costs mentality," he said.

Leagues can publish competition winners but not scores and scorers. Penalties for breaking the rule were not specified.