Eighteen youth football clubs from across Scotland have been suspended from their leagues "due to coaches not having full background checks," according to Chris McLaughlin of the BBC. It follows news that "hundreds of youth coaches and officials have been debarred for failing to complete regulatory checks." Scottish Youth FA CEO David Little said that a "backlog of vetting had been completed." But he told MSPs that 488 people had been "automatically debarred." This was because "they had not submitted an application" to the Protecting Vulnerable Groups scheme. There are about 15,00 volunteer coaches and officials "who help run 39 SYFA leagues and coach 60,000 young players" (BBC, 3/8). In London, Severin Carrell reported Little told Holyrood’s Health & Sport Committee, which is investigating allegations of historic abuse of youth players, that "coaches who had not been vetted should have been working under the supervision of a senior official" who had passed his or her Protective Vulnerable Groups checks. Little: "There is no evidence the suspended coaches are guilty of any offense" (GUARDIAN, 3/8).
