A LITTLE-league football club is to fold after a row over late registration descended into a war of words.

Lordswood United Youth FC – which has been running for more than 40 years – had hoped to join the Tyro League under-11 competition.

But league bosses rejected a late registration, insisting they could not bend the rules. Coaches and several youngsters have already moved to a rival club so they can continue playing.

Yesterday plans to keep the club going collapsed leaving half a dozen remaining players facing a season without football.

The Daily Echo can today reveal that:

  • League officials refused to reconsider the club’s registration and claimed they were subjected to verbal threats from a parent of a young player.
  • Registration forms may have been submitted earlier had club officials not been occupied with a murder trial involving a former player.

Coach Martin Beazley and treasurer Anita Keatings were in court where her son Daniel Gibbons was found guilty of strangling his former girlfriend Hollie Green to death. He was jailed for life last month.

Mrs Keatings admitted she made out the cheque for the registration fee a week late but said it was “sad” league secretary Dan Wilson had not been more flexible.

But Mr Wilson said the registration deadline was needed “to ensure that all the appropriate paperwork was ready for the forthcoming season”.

He said Lordswood also failed to submit an age group registration form which made it an “impossible task” to register them as it was against league rules.

He added following the rejection “several league officers received verbal threats via telephone”. He told the Daily Echo these were reported to Hampshire FA.

An FA spokesman said they had no record of a complaint made by the Tyro League about Lordswood.

The parent concerned, Steve Plumridge, said he tried to persuade the league to reconsider for the sake of the youngsters but insisted he had not been abusive.

“At no point have I made threats,” he told the Daily Echo.

Mr Plumridge had proposed to try to rescue Lordswood after former manager Terry Norris and Mr Beazley moved to another club with eight Lordswood players but he has now decided to look into starting a new team for the 2010-2011 season.

Lordswood secretary Louise Baker last night confirmed: “Lordswood is folding. We feel terrible we had to let some of the lads down.

All we wanted was to give the boys a chance to play football and keep them off the streets.”