Captains to take lead role to end dissent

TEAM captains will be given extra responsibility in stamping out dissent on the pitch next season but the new ‘Respect’ initiative launched yesterday stopped short of recommending that only skippers could speak to referees during a game.

Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore admitted high-profile examples of dissent from the likes of Ashley Cole and Javier Mascherano last season have forced English football’s governing bodies to act to improve respect in the game.

Plans were unveiled in London yesterday to launch the ‘Respect’ campaign — an across-the-board programme dedicated to improving standards of behaviour at all levels of English football and a declaration of war on dissent.

It will be implemented with the full backing of the FA, Premier League, the Football League, the Professional Footballers’ Association and the League Managers’ Association, starting with Sunday’s FA Community Shield.

Scudamore recalled it was incidents such as that involving England full-back Cole — who turned his back on referee Mike Riley during Chelsea’s game against Tottenham in March — and Mascherano’s repeated refusal to leave the field after being dismissed by Steve Bennett in a Manchester United v Liverpool game which raised the public perception of indiscipline at the top of the game last season.

He said: “Football engages, motivates and inspires but we know it can spill over and get ugly. We all have responsibility to deal with these excesses and I sense now there is a dedication from all quarters — including the media — to do that.

“We want prevention rather than sanction and we’ve given credit to the media for playing a major part in the reduction of simulation.

“Now we want to see this programme becoming much more than just a campaign and results in making unacceptable behaviour just that — unacceptable.”

Under the Respect blueprint, team captains will carry extra responsibility to help referees “manage games”, meeting them before kick-off from now on in Premier League games when team sheets are handed in and being called upon to help the officials stamp out dissent during matches.

In turn, referees will be encouraged to act to the full powers of the laws of the game if they deem it necessary, and not to shy away from confrontational issues — with the reassurance of full backing from all authorities.

But FA chief Brian Barwick admitted a pilot scheme to make team captains the only players allowed to have dialogue with the referee was dropped after consultation with the refs’ association, who were “uncomfortable” with the idea.

Neale Barry, a former referee who is now English football’s Head of Senior Referee Development, said: “Captains must accept a new level of responsibility for conduct of their teams and work closely with the ref.

“If some players go too far we can still recognise the benefits of a quiet word being applied but we also want referees to stand and deal with confrontation — not back away. Some will have to change their mindsets.”