FA to crack down on serial swearing

Players are facing a crackdown on abusive language to match officials, on-pitch mass confrontations and dangerous tackles ahead of the new season.

Teams have been warned that verbal abuse of officials, such as that directed at Graham Poll by Wayne Rooney at Highbury last season, will now be punished by an immediate red card.

Referees will take a stronger stance towards mass confrontations between players, while managers have been reminded of their responsibility towards the game in terms of restraining their post-match comments and pre-match mind games.

There will also be a shift in emphasis on tackles, with all dangerous challenges – not only those from behind – now leading to a red card.

The warnings come on the eve of the new season, with the Football Association, Premier League and Football League having joined forces with the Professional Footballers’ Association and League Managers’ Association in a collective show of unity.

The guidelines are exemplified by a set of posters, which will be put up in all dressing-rooms, urging players to ‘respect the game, respect the ref!’

Referees supremo Keith Hackett declared: “Any player who provokes a direct confrontation with a match official and uses offensive, insulting or abusive language will be dismissed. We have made that very clear.

“Managers and players will be informed that this is a clear area as it damages the image of the game and what happens on a Saturday also then takes place on a Sunday morning.

“This is about asking players to look at themselves. We are warning them that the last thing we want to see is nine men against seven but, on the odd occasions when it does take place, it will not be ignored.”

Hackett drew a clear distinction between ‘off the cuff’ swearing by players in frustration at a decision and ‘premeditated’ verbal abuse of players.

While he was reluctant to discuss individual cases, he did confirm that Rooney’s prolonged outburst at Poll at Highbury last season should – and certainly now would – result in an automatic red card.

“It’s as simple as that. I don’t want things to revolve around one particular player but that is a picture of what I’m trying to get over in terms of using insulting language in an aggressive manner,” he added.

“Having spoken to the referee involved in that, the overview is that behaviour is unacceptable. The age of the player doesn’t count.”

Teenager Rooney was widely condemned for his actions, with the English Schools’ Football Association describing him as a bad role model, while teachers’ unions also expressed their worries.

The governing bodies are also keen to cut out mass confrontations between players, with referees being instructed to take stronger action by “identifying and punishing the instigators and any player whose actions escalate or inflame the situation”.

FA chief executive Brian Barwick added: “We are all trying to look at some of the areas of the game that need attention.

“This initiative isn’t knee-jerk and it is not just going to be played out at professional level. We want standards of behaviour to improve across the length and breadth of the game. We are conscious that parks players take a lead off professionals.”

PFA deputy chief executive Mick McGuire and LMA chief executive John Barnwell both backed the developments, with managers having been intensively briefed as to the new guidelines.

Barnwell said: “All managers have a responsibility as they are in a prestigious position. They can affect mass confrontations, foul and abusive language, or simulation [diving].

“They can also certainly control their own pre-match and post-match criticism or discussion about match officials.”

Sports Minister Richard Caborn, meanwhile, welcomed the new guidelines for this season, declaring: “I’m pleased to see football taking such a firm stance on this.

“Every young footballer can remember watching their hero play and wanting to emulate them on the park or the school playground.

“It’s vital that professional footballers set an example by letting their football do the talking. I’d now like to see the chairmen of all football clubs back the football authorities in their desire to clean up the game.”

The guidelines also relate to tackling, with the rules no longer specifying fouls ‘from behind’, but simply specifying that those which endanger an opponent’s safety should lead to an automatic red card.

Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore, meanwhile, declared: “It’s not so much about lowering tolerance but increasing understanding.

“If managers and players understand that this is unacceptable, then that is the boundaries in which they will operate.”