I READ with interest Trevor Hanson's comments in Tales from the Touchline (Sport Extra, April 12) as I, too, am concerned about injuries in football, but I think that some of Trevor's remarks are misguided.

As an amateur goalkeeper of renown, Trevor knows the difficulty in recruiting referees, so if we had to insist that they had to have a certificate in first aid, the task would be virtually impossible.

The Blackburn Sunday League has on many occasions offered to pay for club officials to go on first aid courses run by the Lancashire Football Association, but the response has always been negative.

This season we are paying out of limited league funds for a qualified physiotherapist to be available at Pleasington every Sunday morning to treat any player who has been injured and the exercise has been a success.

We also insist that every club is insured and no club can play in the league until a valid insurance certificate has been shown, and this must include capital benefits. Trevor's statement that clubs have to pay out a lot for pitch fees, league fees and referees is a valid point but, unfortunately, pitch fees will continue to rise.

However, his suggestion that leagues should pay for a part of a players' insurance is a little misdirected. To insure a player for a £30-a-week benefit would cost a league of our size, which has nearly 1,000 registered players, £6,400 per season.

Where would this money come from? Well, it would mean an increase in league fees of £200 per club per season.

Perhaps players could think about taking out a personal accident policy, particularly if they are self-employed.

Continue with your column, Trevor it is always good to get a player's view of things.

FRANK MITCHELL, Secretary & Chairman, Blackburn Sunday League.