I WAS shocked and surprised to read the headlines in last week's GUARDIAN that the Warrington Sunday League has banned a deaf football team from competing on the grounds of communication.

It is this kind of ignorance and discrimination that further erodes the quality of life for deaf people. I shall be lobbying Mr Broomhead of the council to ensure that some form of consequence befalls the league. This action is thoroughly deserved because the league's actions is an attack on deaf people and indeed all disabled people.

I am currently involved in the regeneration of deaf sport in the UK and will be making sure that this incident has national coverage.

As a deputy headteacher at a school for deaf children I shall be offering the deaf football team my support to ensure that it does not face such ignorance again.

As a member of a working party, "Communication Through Sport", we believe that the future of deaf sport will depend upon our integration into hearing sport and we will be very happy to give some deaf awareness training to the Warrington Sunday League so that it will be able to go forward positively after this embarrassing episode.

STUART HARRISON

Communication Through Sport