STEVE Gibson, the Middlesbrough chairman, has branded the Football League an “absolute disgrace” over the John Bostock affair. A league tribunal last week ruled that Tottenham Hotspur must pay Crystal Palace a paltry £700,000 for the highly-rated 16-year-old midfield player, who had been nurtured at Selhurst Park since childhood.

That decision infuriated Simon Jordan, the Palace chairman, who has since threatened to sell the club and was last night described as “a farce” by his counterpart at the Riverside Stadium. Having invested hugely in Middlesbrough’s highly-respected Academy, Gibson is adamant that the sport’s governing bodies have a duty of care to clubs who excel in developing young local players.

“For us smaller clubs who put so much time, effort and finance into building up our Academies, to get a result like that is a farce,” Gibson told The Times, “and the people involved are an absolute disgrace. The Football League are guilty of betraying the very clubs and the very people they are supposed to protect. I can totally understand Simon Jordan’s deep disappointment. Football is a tough business and all we ask for is some form of consistency.

“Clubs like Palace and Middlesbrough are trying our best to find young players of quality; there are so many who don’t make the grade, but they still cost us money. You’re talking about one in 100 who make it. The football authorities talk about how important it is to the future of the game that we produce our own players and then allows something like this to happen.

“We pump a fortune into our own Academy and you get a player who comes through into the first-team very rarely. Palace think that Bostock is the best they have ever produced, but the fee they’ve recouped for him wouldn’t pay their Academy costs for a year. It costs a fortune.

“Academies aren’t just for the benefit of individual clubs, they’re a service to football in this country; young players are trained and educated. But it doesn’t come cheap. If clubs like ours and Palace don’t receive more protection, what’s the motivation for us to keep pumping money in? Why do it? The Football League have to look at themselves and the FA should look at it, too. We have to protect the good academies we have. By allowing Bostock to move on for £700,000 that clearly hasn’t happened in this case.

“Simon Jordan should be listened to. He is an opinionated man, but he says what he sees and football needs people like that. He should be given more support. I haven’t spoken to him, but I intend to; I know he’s talked about selling Palace, but that would be a real shame.”

Middlesbrough’s Academy, which is managed by Dave Parnaby, is one of the most productive in the Barclays Premier League. Graduates with first-team experience include Stewart Downing, David Wheater, Andrew Taylor, Lee Cattermole, Adam Johnson and Tony McMahon; in response to interest from Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa and Liverpool, Gibson has stated categorically that Downing, the England winger, is not for sale.

“Every transfer window, whether it’s the close-season or January, Stewart Downing seems to come into the equation,” he said. “But Stewart has just signed a five-year contract with us and that shows his level of commitment to this club and ours in Stewart. Selling him is not something that has entered our thoughts or come into our planning; he’s exactly what this club needs.

“He’s a sensible lad and a good lad, whose heart, soul and very being are in this club, he’s happy to stay here and we’re very proud to have him. He was excellent for us towards the back end of last season and he’s a really important part of Gareth’s plans. Quite simply, Stewart isn’t for sale.”