View From The Churchill

FA chief executive Brian Barwick has announced plans which are designed to improve the behaviour of players, with one idea being to allow only captains to talk to the referee. Barwick plans to introduce the rule at grass-roots level. Hmm. I can understand that abuse of refs may have more impact at grass-roots because it is a fact that personal abuse directed towards referees leads to many giving up the game altogether and, as Barwick says, without referees games cannot take place. It is also a fact that referees take more stick from spectators than they do from players. When was the last time Mr Barwick stood on the touch line at an under 8s fixture and witnessed the screaming banshees and raving madmen cheering on their offspring?

I do think that something has to be done to protect officials. Barwick’s proposals should certainly be considered, but why plan to introduce this measure only at a lower level? Why not take a big-bang approach and introduce it across the board? The problem with introducing the measure at grass-roots level is that when it does eventually reach the upper echelons of the game (if indeed it ever does) it would be in such a watered down version that it would be completely ineffective. After all, they wouldn’t want to upset anybody important would they?

It really is time that the FA looked at their flagship, the Premier League. Kids will copy their heroes - full stop. Of course, the problem with the FA tackling Premier League players is that as soon as they were touched, they would be rolling about on the floor feigning injury, whilst their teammates brandish invisible cards at the official.

Both codes of rugby broadly work along the “only the captain can speak to the ref” principle and it works well, but can the idea really take root in football? Not long ago, the rules were changed to allow a free kick to be moved forward in the event of abuse, yet how often do you see that happening now? Another case of a good idea allowed to go soft by the FA. Just like the rugby-style mic-ing up of refs was dropped once it was realised that the game’s heroes were not going to temper their foul mouthed outpourings simply because a few hero worshipping children could hear what they were saying.

The only way this will work is if the punishment fits the crime. Abuse a match official – off. No second chance, off. And the subsequent ban must be heavy enough to serve as a deterrent. Maybe they could take a few pointers from the amateur game. If a Sunday morning player is sent off, he cops for a 35 day ban. If the same punishment was dished out to those involved in the professional game, the Wengers and Fergusons of this world would soon instil a bit a discipline into their players.