Council chiefs have shown the red card to a fresh plea for new goalposts to be installed at Rutherglen football pitches.
Chairman of Fernhill Soccer School Davy O’Neil told Lanarkshire Live he has been left stunned by the stance of the local authority after campaigning to upgrade the dilapidated goals for five years.
South Lanarkshire Leisure & Culture (SLLC) are refusing to play ball claiming the portable goalposts are too dangerous and would pose “health and safety” concerns – but declined to provide further details of what the health and safety implications would be.
Hitting out at the decision, Davy questioned why the Fernhill community was being “unfairly penalised” when other council-run sports facilities in South Lanarkshire already have the state-of-the-art goals, such as Hamilton Palace Sports Grounds.
Davy, 63, said: “I do community work in Fernhill as chairman of Fernhill Soccer School to get kids and gangs of the street. I also run Fernhill Wednesday adults football and am sub-chairman of Rutherglen Glencairn under-20s. I do what I can to help others in other groups and organisations.
“I recently put in for funding from South Lanarkshire Council to help purchase goals for Fernhill as it would be massive help for older people who find the park too big. The goal is on safety wheels so older players could shorten the park.
“Right now Fernhill has badly out-of-date goals and they are welded onto the fence so unable to move. I would purchase the new goal and gift it to Fernhill were I have stayed almost 60 years.
“The goal could be chained to a fence and the key could be kept behind desks in Fernhill and, if needed, people could then ask for key to move the goal so the park is smaller and hand it back in after the game.”
He added: “Fernhill is the only football park I have visited that does not have these modern goals, they’re really common. With my connection to football I go all over the place and see these goals everywhere and even kids moving them to make the park smaller.
“The current metal goal across the park is far too small and to be honest more dangerous as I have seen kids bang their heads on them when retrieving the ball.
“All I’m asking is to put one good safety goal in Fernhill. I have been told that it’s not possible which I find extraordinary as it’s helping local people out, it’s for the whole community to use and is also saving the council money as I’m paying for goal.
“Older lads right now are struggling to play as numbers are low, they are stuck in the house with some even saying it’s the only exercise they get and the only people they speak to all week.
“So as well as helping young kids, it will also encourage older lads back out the house to play football and mix with others which is good for their mental health.
“I just can’t understand why Fernhill is being denied this.”
A spokesperson for South Lanarkshire Leisure & Culture said: “SLLC is supportive of the work that the soccer school carry out. The soccer school has raised this issue previously and we worked with it in a bid to get a resolution to this matter.
“The goals requested would require SLLC to allocate additional staffing resource to allow the safe movement of the goals.
“We contacted a number of suppliers to ask if they could supply moveable goalposts that would not require additional staffing allocation but, unfortunately, no suppliers or manufacturers could provide such a product.”
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