CRAIG Short is a model football professional who has never played in a cup final.

He is approaching the twilight of his days in football and will miss playing in the Worthington Cup Final - which he describes as the pinnacle of his career - because he got sent off in a Premiership game last Saturday.

It's a nightmare for the player and it is wrong that he should have to miss the biggest football occasion of his life.

Cup finals should be exempt from suspensions. It does nobody any good making a player miss out on such a fantastic day and such a marvellous memory. All it does is bring heartbreak for the player.

Cup finals are a one-off occasion and there's no good reason why players should have to miss them through suspension.