THE Trowbridge and District football league has called in legal advisors to check whether it could be sued if players are injured in matches without a qualified referee.

Chairman Roly Hill and vice chairman Phil Senior, who have been running the league for 40 years, are waiting for the answer before deciding whether to end their association with the league.

The league's future has been put in doubt after a new Wiltshire FA initiative to centralise the appointment of referees has left a third of its first month's matches without a qualified official.

In its 107-year history the league has gained a reputation of always being able to provide a qualified official and organisers fear this could jeopardise its existence.

The FA argues the system is the best way to cope with a shortage of referees throughout the county and a way of ensuring a fairer distribution of refereeing resources and addressing the imbalance between leagues.

But league officials are furious, claiming it could ruin its reputation.

Hill said: "The drastic shortage of referees will hit our club very hard. Over the past 40 years I have spent countless hours ensuring all our games have had a qualified official.

"We are currently checking where we stand legally because we want to make sure no individuals will be held accountable if someone gets injured in a match without a qualified referee.

"The dire situation is going from bad to worse. One of our most generous sponsors has withdrawn funding and a second major sponsor has also expressed dismay and will not sign the contract as planned."

Tim Penwell, the league's development officer for the last six and a half years, has resigned in protest at the FA's new system.

Hill said: "This, along with Tim Penwell's resignation, could cost us £25,000 over the next five years.

"If we lose the services of Tim Penwell, I think clubs' affiliation fees would probably have to treble. We would certainly lose a lot of clubs and this would threaten the very future of the league."

"Quite frankly, I have nearly had enough now, as has my vice chairman Phil Senior. We have run what we like to think was an efficient and well respected league for 40 years and don't want to see its high standards deteriorate.

The withdrawal of sponsorship money, less than a month before the start of the season, has resulted in Monday's presentation night being cancelled.

The league had intended to present the eight new teams in the league with cash to help them get started, but this money is now no longer available.

Penwell, who has worked for the league for six-and-a-half years said: "When someone has something

good going I believe you should leave it alone. If there are shortages of referees in other leagues you find ways to deal with it, but this has made it worse.

"We have worked very hard to make sure all our matches have qualified referees but it looks as though all that has gone out of the window.

"The repercussions are going to be catastrophic and the knock on effect on sponsorship is too huge to contemplate. It would break my heart if I continued only to see it crumble.

"We are growing all the time as a league and this season we are due to welcome eight new teams but by having so many games without a qualified referee I think our image could be tarnished irreparably."

Dennis Boast of Trowbridge firm Pied Piper promotions, a major sponsor of the league, has said he expects to withdraw his sponsorship for this season.

He said: "As a main sponsor I have seen the league thrive and grow in recent years but now its future is in jeopardy.

"How can matches go ahead at this level without a qualified official? It means any man or his granny might do the job. It makes a complete mockery of the league.

"It could result in serious injury and I don't wish to see that happen in any match that we sponsor."

Every club must have someone prepared to act as a referee now and failure to provide one will result in a fine.

Paul Butcher, manager of division two side Hilperton United, has been playing in the league for 27 years and can't remember a referee not being provided.

He said: "It is going to cause mayhem. I would not be surprised if players start giving up because they don't want to play in a match with no control.

"The league could be destroyed when it's in the best state it has ever been in."

Dave Beaumont, secretary of first division Seend United, believes the system will make the shortage of referees worse.

He said: "Referees will be asked to travel long distances and they just won't want to do it.

"I think the Wiltshire FA is ruining the organisation of the league. In the past we have had no problem with referees."

The league's vice chairman Phil Senior is also the chairman of the West Wiltshire Referee's Society and he believes the changes will anger its members.

He said: "I wrote to the referee secretary and we never had a response. Officials are now being dictated to as to where they have to go and they don't like it.

"Referees can refuse to officiate at a match but if they do they can forget about being given any plum games in the future."

The FA believe the re-allocation of referees is the best way to cope with the shortage of officials in the county.

A statement read: "The new system ensures that the county Football Association has a complete audit of the refereeing activity of its referees.

"Up until now each league in the county has been responsible for appointments but this has resulted in an imbalance of referee allocations with some competitions faring better than others.

"The new system goes some way to addressing the imbalance and ensures a fairer distribution of refereeing resource throughout the county.

"The county is approximately 35-40 referees short every Saturday in September and while this is not an unfamiliar situation to some leagues others, such as the Trowbridge and District League, are for the first time in many years suffering a huge shortage of officials.

"This is not the fault of introducing a new system but because there is a major shortage of match officials."

The FA is now appealing for people interested in becoming referees to join one of the courses coming up over the next few months.

l If you can help in address the problem, please contact the Wiltshire County Football Association Ltd at 18 Covingham Square, Covingham, Swindon, SN3 5AA or phone (01793) 486047.