This invention relates to a flexible rate matching method, comprising the steps of: a) receiving a continuous stream of data items at a prespecified rate of a clock signal in a configurable data shift register; b) storing, for each data item stored in the data shirt register, an associated indication of validity in a configurable validity shift register and shifting the indications of validity at said prespecified rate; c) modifying the contents of the data shift register and the validity shift register through puncture/repetition operations so as to achieve a rate matching, and d) outputting valid data items at said prespecified rate using said indications of validity stored in the validity shift register. The invention also relates to a corresponding flexible rate matching apparatus as well as to a computer program product and a processor program product.