EVERYONE has the right to freedom of opinion and expression - states Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

But almost 60 years after that text was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations, local football managers could be reprimanded if they have the temerity to exercise their right to voice views.

It is believed that in order to avoid a repeat of the verbal jousting between Bournemouth Poppies boss James Wood and his AFC Totton counterpart Stuart Ritchie earlier this month, the Sydenhams Wessex League is considering a hard-line stance.

Acting league chairman Bob Purkiss and his fellow committee members have the power to fine clubs if representatives step out of line.

They could also opt for touchline bans. But this is obviously not seen as a sufficient deterrent because points deductions could be the punishment of choice if club officials have the audacity to step out of line in the future.

In defence of the league, it is well within its rights to introduce such penalties, as the rulebook leaves the topic open to interpretation.

Rule 18 - titled Misconduct of clubs, officers, players - in the league's official handbook says: Any person charged and found guilty of bringing the competition into disrepute and any club officer or member charged and found guilty of misconduct as defined by the board or of inducing or attempting to induce a player of another club to join his own club shall be liable to such a penalty as the board shall deem appropriate'.

And I'm led to believe that this so-called appropriate' punishment could be the docking of points.

If the league's aim is to scare managers into towing the line then this will undoubtedly do the trick, although it could be argued that a points deduction would not really make much difference to the majority of the teams in the Premier Division, such is the gap emerging at both ends of the table.

I have no problem with the league using its rules to punish clubs if they slag off the league directly or make an unwarranted attack on individuals.

But what I vehemently disagree with is clamping down on people when all they are doing is expressing their personal opinion in a fair and honest fashion.

You might say I have a vested interest in this subject. It's true, I admit, that for a football writer it is far better for me to have a few controversial quotes to work with.

But the league should also be seeing such comments as a benefit. No publicity is bad publicity after all.

I'm sure Wood's comments added a few to the gate at Victoria Park and isn't that what every club and committee member throughout the league is striving for?

Let's face it, the Wimbornes and Poole Towns aside, the crowds are nothing to write home about. And I'd have thought the league would want to do everything possible to increase the attendances.

In my opinion, an article like the one ahead of the Poppies-Totton match works a treat.

It's not like Wessex big-wigs are following the lead of the upper echelons of the English game with their new idea for gagging managers.

If the Premier League took such a stance, sides bossed by Sir Alex Ferguson or Jose Mourinho would never finish above mid-table.

And as for a Neil Warnock-managed team, they would be lucky to finish with a positive points total!

The league hardly covered itself in glory when it opted to promote teams including Ringwood into the Premier Division on the strength of their stadiums, rather than the quality of playing personnel.

In Ringwood's case, this has backfired in a big way and has led to some embarrassing scores being racked up, none more so than the 10-0 scoreline of last weekend.

But on the subject of severe sanctions for speaking one's mind, I sincerely hope the league see the light and don't make a costly gaffe.

The bigger picture needs to be taken into consideration. The controversy that follows some strongly worded opinions can only be positive and help the league meet what should be its primary objective - boosting attendances and interest in the product.

As legendary Wessex League manager Alex Pike told yesterday's Echo, football is "showbusiness".

The non-league part of the national game often struggles for glitz, so let's not take away one of its more glamorous facets - the right to free speech.