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Published
12 May 2008
RESPECT SET TO SPREAD TO THE TOP
RESPECT AT EVERY LEVEL?
FA Chief Executive Brian
Barwick says that the Respect campaign is almost certainly going to be rolled
out from top to bottom of football next season. What good news. What commonsense
at last. He wants to unleash his pioneering Respect campaign at every level of
English football next season. The scheme was launched in March to stamp out
indiscipline and trails at county level have proved hugely successful. Under
the rules of Respect, only the captains are allowed to the referee, while clubs
and players must sign a ‘memorandum of understanding’ setting out standards of
behaviour expected on the pitch. Barwick had a two hour meeting with the
football family – the Premier League, the Football League, the PFA, the LMA,
the referees association and several others – to discuss the type of measures
the professional game can adopt and they have yet to be agreed. There is
another meeting this month and Barwick will take the ideas to the FA Board in
June with a view to them being implemented in August. The problem with
high-profile campaigns is that they can be very immediate but then disappear. I
believe that the whole game is ready to embrace Respect and I hope this Respect
campaign won’t.
Published
22 April 2008
RESPECT VOTED SUCCESS
THE
FA’s RESPECT
The
pilot scheme is over – now get ready for take-off for the real thing. The
governing body launched their ten-week pilot bid to test whether behaviour on
and off the pitch could be improved by some simple ideas, like allowing only
captains to speak to referees and putting up taped barriers to clamp down on
abuse officials receive. The data from the trail period will be evaluated over
the next three weeks and the FA will receive a full report in June. But you can
take it as read that it will be all systems go across the board come the start
of next season. The FA’s director of football development Sir Trevor Booking
believes the case for Respect has been given a boost by the public uproar over
the recent behaviour of Premier League stars Ashley Cole of Chelsea and Javier
Mascherano, of Liverpool, on the pitch.
Published
11 April 2008
CLEAN UP, FANS TOLD
CLEAN UP, BARROW FANS TOLD
Barrow has joined the crusade
to clean up football by cracking down on foul and abusive language by their fans.
The FA have launched their Respect campaign to encourage players to show more
regard for referees, while the Hellenic League have introduced a zero tolerance
policy for abuse towards match officials. Now the Bluebirds are doing their bit
by agreeing to tackle abuse by supporters. Chairman Brian Keen said, “The
subject got brought up at our annual meeting last week and we decided as a
board to have a go at stopping foul and abusive language. “We have a small
minority of people have caused problems and now it’s time to clean up our act.
We will give a verbal warning first before taking it further. If they don’t
want to conform, we don’t want them.”
Published
1 April 2008
NOW FA REACHES OUT
FA CALL IN AMOS FOR NEW TALKS
The FA have invited Arngrove Northern
League chairman Mike Amos to a meeting on 1 May to discuss his league’s wish to
introduce zero tolerance over swearing. The FA had agreed to the scheme for
next season and then changed their mind. It seems that the groundswell of
public opinion is now so great that the FA realises it made the wrong decision
over zero tolerance and really has to address the issue. Amos said, “Some say
that action should come from the top – the Premiership down – but if our level
of the game becomes a standard bearer for enforcing the law on offensive
language, what a huge boost that would be.”
Published
24 March 2008
THE FA’s NATIONAL GAMES STRATEGY
CASH WILL GROW TO £700million
The FA believes the fact they
have done their homework will ensure the money being pumped into grass-roots
will prove a success. Their National Game Strategy follows the largest public
consultation in the governing body’s history representing over 37,000 people
from all sections of the community and the game. The FA are pumping £200m into grass-roots
over the next five years and the FA head of national development Kelly Simmons
believes that will be just part of a £700m bonanza when cash from the likes of
the Football Foundation, local government and the FA’s development partners
including Tesco and McDonald’s is added in. Simmons’s said, “It is an
unprecedented amount of money and brings a big responsibility. We need to make
sure it goes into the critical areas that need it.” “That is why we have spent
over a year researching and consulting with so many people. We are confident
through the research we’ve done that the strategy is robust.” “The research
that we’ve done should help us get to get partnership funding. For example, we
can go to organizations and tell that 1.1m children would like to join a
football team or that 2.4m children want to improve their skills.” FA chief
executive Brian Barwick is determined to get value for money for the FA’s £200m
investment and will have Simmons report back to him every 100 days to ensure
the money is spent properly. Meanwhile the FA national board chairman Roger
Burden has highlighted the importance of the County FA’s in ensuring the
strategy’s success. He said, “The 50 County FA’s will be working as key
delivery agencies for the strategy and are already seeing an increase in
investment available for personnel, notably towards referee development
officers and welfare officers. We want value for money and we are agreeing
targets with each county on a yearly basis.”
################
FA SLAPS 5-YEAR BAN ON ROUGH BOSSES
The Football Association’s
battle to protect referees was highlighted again last night after it was
revealed that two managers have been banned for a total of five years for
abusing referees. The shock bans imposed by the Worcestershire FA came in the
week the FA launched their own Respect campaign to combat increasing calls for
tougher action against players, officials and supporters who swear or threaten
match officials. Worcestershire FA disciplinary secretary John Lovegrove said,
“We are not going to tolerate referees being abused. The deterrents just have
just haven’t been working.” The county has also decided to step up the level of
fines imposed on offenders. The new get tough policy has followed Sport Italia
Hellenic League chairman Brian King’s challenge to other leagues throughout the
country to adopt zero tolerance policies towards inappropriate language. Sascha
Hobbs, manager of Midland Combination outfit Archdale 73’s Worcester Sunday
League side, has been suspended from all football until 31 December 2010 and
fined £200. He was charged with bring the game into disrepute for allegedly
using offensive language towards a match official and women spectators. It was
also alleged that he made threatening remarks and confronted a referee in the
car park after the Worcestershire FA Premiership Cup game against Bromsgrove
General on January 27. Craig Robinson, manager of Droitwich
based Worcester Sunday League
side Star & Garter has been suspended until the end of next year and fined
£250 following complaints about three separate incidents inside six weeks. He
was charged with threatening a referee in December and taking an offensive and
threatening attitude towards a match official the following month. He was also
said to have behaved improperly towards a referee in another game. The pair have 14 days to appeal to the Football Association against
the bans.
Published
16 March 2008
FA U-Turn Is Let Down
AMOS HOLDS FIRM ON ZERO
TOLERANCE
Determined Arngrove Northern League
officials remain committed to outlaw bad language, despite a shock Football
Association u-turn on their trial zero tolerance ban. Furious Arngrove Northern
League chairman Mike Amos said that every avenue would be pursued to prevent
players swearing regardless of the FA’s action. We broke the news of the
league’s hardline stance in February (Published below - 11 Feb 08) and that the
FA sanctioned the ban in the league’s Division Two next season. Amos says the
ANL will now explore other ways of clamping down on bad behaviour within the
laws of the game as a matter of priority and revealed he plans to talk to the
Sport Italia Hellenic League and may borrow some of their ideas, which the
Hellenic claim have helped them to successfully operate a zero tolerance policy
for the last two seasons. Amos said, “Decent people are sickened by bad
language and are being driven away from the game in droves. The FA’s u-turn
over this is a very black day for football at our level. I despair at our
leaders. However, we’re definitely not going to give up and we will explore
other avenues to see what else can be done about this problem,” added Amos. The
FA say they overturned their decision because officials want to evaluate the
results of their own Respect scheme, currently being trailed in 20 grassroots
and junior leagues across eight counties before sanctioning further
experimental measures. An FA spokesman said, “The Arngrove Northern League
initiative may be considered in the future, but it has been put on hold in order
that the FA can measure tangibly the effect the Respect campaign has.” “We are
committed to addressing this problem, but we just want to do it as part of a
co-ordinated programme rolled out across the board.”
Why Zero Tolerance
Amos’ anger came as a referee
vowed not to officiate in junior games after being subjected to “sickening”
levels of abuse while taking charge of an under-12 match. Manchester official
Joe Traynor said he will refuse to referee Benchill Celtic after receiving a
tirade of abuse from players, their parents and officials. Traynor reported
Benchill Celtic to the Timperley & District League after ugly scenes marred
their game against Wythenshawe.
Published
14 March 2008
Serial Offenders
EXPULSION FOR SERIAL OFFENDERS
Brian Tatum, the chairman of
the Essex & Suffolk Border League, says that any league member serially
involved in bad conduct will be expelled from the league. Tatum’s message
follows the expulsion of Walton Town, who have been booted out after three of
their matches this season were abandoned because of violent conduct while 120
points have been racked-up over the past two seasons. Town – who are 138 years
old – will not be allowed readmission for at least five years and all results
involving them this season have been expunged from the league records. Walton Town have been involved in three
abandoned games because of violent conduct, and came close to a fourth for the
same reason as well as other offences, which is totally unacceptable. The
league delegates voted 42 to 4 in favour of expulsion.
Published
11 February 2008
Zero Tolerance Gets FA Backing
Amos Delighted With
FA Backing
SWEAR ONCE and you’re off is
the blunt message to Non-League players, as the Football Association this week
approved a zero tolerance approach to bad language. The idea reported, on this
page (6 Feb 08), is the brainchild of Arngrove Northern League chairman Mike
Amos, who could not detain his delight at the FA’s referees committee’s
approval at their meeting Thursday. “If you deliberately swear next season, you
will be shown a red card,” he said. “You won’t be spoken to, or shown a yellow
card for your first offence. There will be no room for argument – you will be
straight off and that’s that.” This approach has now been officially sanctioned
for a year’s trial and if successful, is set to be extended to the rest of the
Non – League game. The trial will take place in the league’s second division
next season and the FA will be closely monitoring it throughout the campaign.
Whereas FA chief executive Brian Berwick’s new Respect initiative, which was
launched in 20 leagues across eight English county associations yesterday,
largely deals with worsening behaviour towards match officials in grassroots
football, the Amos policy is set to have far-reaching ramifications. Each
player will be notified in writing about the new rule before the season starts,
so there will be no excuse for offenders. “It is the first time the FA has
given total control over referees to league management, which will be able to
instruct how the laws are applied. We
will be nothing outside the existing laws of the game, but merely enforcing the
laws that are already in place.” Amos added, “We will be having a meeting with
the FA as how to it is to be implemented before the season starts.”
The move comes at a time when
more referees are quitting than ever before in the face of soaring levels of
abuse. Last autumn, referees in the Warley Sunday League staged a one-off
strike over bad behaviour. The South Devon League has adopted a policy of
writing to offenders to warn them about their behavior towards match officials.
And
Brawls Threaten Leagues Future
League On The Verge Of Extinction
A SUNDAY football league is on the
verge of extinction after a raft of officials quit because player behaviour has
reached an all-time low. Six out of a seven-person committee have thrown the
towel with the Darlington Sunday Invitation League and referees are leaving in
their droves against a backdrop of on-pitch fighting. League secretary Ken
Moore, who is leaving after ten year of service, insisted enough is enough.
“This season has been the worst in my memory,” he said. “An increasing number
of games have had mass brawls. It puts a massive strain on all the committee.
We are finding it increasingly hard to appoint referees because of the
behavior, especially the swearing.” He continued, “I have been out and watched
and seen these things happen. People should learn to keep their mouths and
thoughts to themselves.” Moore is searching for replacements to fill the
breach, but if none are found by March 26 then the league – the only one of its
kind in Darlington – will disband.
Published
6 February 2008
Countdown to Referee Revolution
Kick Off This Weekend
The FA’s revolutionary
Non-League pilot scheme to clamp down on abusive behaviour towards referees and
linesmen kicks off on Saturday 9th February 2008. And after another black
week for physical assaults on match officials, many are saying that the Respect
scheme, drawn up by FA chief executive Brian Barwick cannot come into operation
soon enough. The pilot will see all players except captains banned from talking
to referees. In junior leagues, fans will be limited to roped-off areas in
cases where there is no barrier. Managers, coaches, players and parents will
also have to sign a code of conduct regarding their behaviour at games. Eight
County FA’s are taking part in the pilot scheme, which will be held at
under-10’s, under-16’s and open age level junior leagues, from February 9th
until the end of the season. Ian Blanchard, FA head of national referee
development, said if the scheme proved successful it was likely to be extended
throughout the country and to higher levels. He said, “The scheme has generated
a lot of interest and we hope it will stop referees quitting the game because
of the high levels of abuse. We are not identifying the leagues taking part at
the moment. If everyone knows who they are, it could leave us with distorted
results, when we make the final analysis.” FA bosses fear that worsening levels
of abuse which are driving referees out of the game will not only leave many
junior leagues without them in years to come, but also games in the Pyramid may
not have a full set of three officials.
And
About Time
Referees Told To Get
Tough On Foul-Mouthed Players
A NEW Zero Tolerance policy
will see foul-mouthed players sent off and banned. The Arngrove Northern League
will spearhead the Football Association’s new Respect campaign, which kicks off
in 20 grassroots leagues across England next weekend. Tackling bad behaviour is
the principle aim of the FA’s campaign but hardliners at the North East based
league are taking the battle a stage further and will make their competition an
experimental ‘no-swearing zone’ with referees ordered to first book and then
send off all offenders. Arngrove Northern League Chairman Mike Amos proposed
the hard-hitting trail crackdown which will be extended throughout the Pyramid
if successful. He said, “We would not want to see a player penalized for
swearing instinctively if, for example, he had been injured.” Amos added, “It
is no use saying any more that football is a man’s game, because today it
belongs to women and children too and I believe that if we ban swearing
attendances will also increase.”
Published
26 January 2008
Still Keeping the Focus on the Referee Crisis
Shop Abusive Fans
Notts Clubs Told
The battle to clean up Non-League
was stepped up as a League revealed plans to ban abusive supporters. Fed-up
officials at the Precision Nottinghamshire Senior League are to implement a
zero-tolerance policy on bad behaviour in a desperate bid to stem dwindling
members of match officials. The move comes after the South West’s WBW
Solicitors South Devon League began threatening to sham abusive players by
sending letters to their homes threatening to them. And in the Midlands,
referees went on strike before Christmas in a protest at abusive behaviour. The
new Nottinghamshire initiative was announced as the Football Association begins
implementing a series of pilot initiatives to curb abuse in grassroots to
overcome a nationwide referee recruitment crisis. Nottinghamshire Senior League
vice chairman Dick Durrant believes the crack-down is long overdue and will be
widely welcomed. Durrant said, “Abuse is killing the game whether it comes from
players or fans. The way we are going there will be no referees for football in
five years.” He added, “There have been two serious incidents in other leagues
in Nottinghamshire involving referees this season and we are now nipping it in
the bud so it does not happen in our league. Everyone who I have spoken to
about it is supporting us over this.” Durrant explained that the league’s clubs
will play a vital role in the crackdown and would face punishment themselves,
including expulsion from the league if they fail to co-operate. He said, “We
would have to ban spectators through the clubs, who would know who they are. If
a club failed to action against an offender then they themselves could face
discipline action. Where we find a club guilty of failing to control its
spectators and where individuals are identified we will punish the clubs.” Durrant also revealed misbehaving players
risk be kicked out of his league under tough new rules. He said, “Anyone who
gets a 35-day ban or worse for violent conduct will be called to league
officials. They will be told they will be booted out of the league if it happens
again.
Published 12 November 2007
Boston Facing Player
Probe
Boston United are facing a
fresh crisis after it emerged they fielded an ineligible player earlier this
season. The Player, believed to be Guadeloupe-born midfielder Ludovic Quistin,
stands accused of taking part in three matches without international clearance.
The Lincolnshire side faces a league hearing on Tuesday and, if found guilty
could be docked any points gained in those games. Only last season AFC
Wimbledon were docked 18 points for fielding for fielding full-back Jermaine
Darlington after it transpired his registration was held by Welsh side Cardiff
City. The punishment was reduced to just three points on appeal. Boston stand to lose a maximum of seven points – just months after
being demoted two divisions for financial breaches.
Published
6 November 2007
THE UGLY SIDE OF
FOOTBALL
FA Probe Mass Brawl
The FA is investigating the
disturbing scenes that forced the Ryman One North class between Waltham Abbey and
Tilbury to be abandoned. The
It’s Six of the Worst
for Wales
FA of Wales chiefs are to
investigate why six players were sent off as Caernarfon’s Loosemores League Cup
match with Llangefni descended into a Halloween night shocker. In a dead-rubber
qualifier which had no significance, match referee Huw Jones created a
top-fight Welsh record by flashing half a dozen red cards – four to the home
side. It took the number of Caernarfon dismissals this season to eight – in
only 16 competitive games. A quartet of players went following a 73rd minute
brawl after a fight between Caernarfon midfielder Layton Maxwell and
Llangefni’s Dylan Owen. Maxwell went along with team-mate Khyle Sampson, and
off went Llangefni’s Kevin Lloyd and Chriss Evans. Caernarfon were reduced to
seven men when Kevin McGarry received a second yellow and Bobby Jones followed
two minutes later. Llangefni won 3-2. (Abridged);
Published
20 August 2007
Help Us Make Game
Clean
The Chairman of a County FA has
made a plea to managers and captains to act as role models in an attempt to
improve discipline and keep referees in the game. Alec Thomson has spoken out in the wake of
recently released figures portraying an alarming rise in poor conduct under the
jurisdiction of his Nottinghamshire FA, including a worrying increase in sine die suspensions handed out last
season. Seventeen players were suspended with immediate effect, up from five in
2005-06, with five banned indefinitely. The previous year, only one had
received the most severe punishment. Yellow cards were up by four per cent to
7,160, while the 753 dismissals represented a six per cent increase. Also up
six per cent was the breach of FA Rule E3 – use of abusive and/or insulting
words to a match official – with a 16 per cent increase in serious foul play
and over 60 per cent increase in miscellaneous cases, including spitting and
threatening behaviour.
Some local leagues, including
Zero Tolerance For Foul Mouths
The Sport Italia Hellenic
League has followed The Non-League
Paper’s lead in launching a zero tolerance approach to swearing at games.
Just over two years ago, The NLP ran
a hugely successful Clean Up Our Game
campaign (prominently published on this site) with the eradication of foul
language and abusive language at its heart. Players, managers, officials and
fans joined together in wearing green wristbands to symbolize the scheme and
spread the word.
Now the Hellenic League have
listened to the complaints of spectators, club officials and match assessors
about little or no action being taken by referees when players and coaches use
inappropriate language. The Step 5 and 6 league kicked off yesterday with
officials under a stern warning from the management board to “protect the
integrity of the game of association football”. General manager Brian King
said, “Match officials who attended the recent in-service training day were
instructed that they must implement a zero tolerance policy from the opening
day of the season. “This is policy whereby the language used is inappropriate
to the circumstances and not specifically to the individual the comment is made
towards. Match assessors have also been instructed to make appropriate points
to match officials who do not properly comply with the league policy. Officials
of clubs were told at a pre-season meeting that they have a responsibility to
tell their management and players of the policy, and to utilize the match
reporting procedure where match officials have not adhered to the league
instruction.
And
County Demand Cuts In
Points
A COUNTY FA official has backed
the Hellenic League’s stance on swearing – and spoken of his wish to see clubs
deducted points if their players abuse match officials. Suffolk FA secretary
Martin Head believes the whole attitude towards referees, right through from
the FA chiefs at Soho Square to players and managers, needs to change to
protect the game’s future. He said, “I
am concerned that through all the current discussions relating to the FA’s
Football Strategy 2007-12, refereeing is not being given enough prominence”.
For those who are not aware of
the FA’s Football Strategy it covers football governance and development in all
its forms – coaching, facilities, fitness, youth and women’s football, disabled
football and small sided games – yet without a referee you have anarchy and no
proper match. Refereeing should have been a theme itself in the FA’s strategy
review. Head advocates a number of implementations to encourage people to get
into, and then stick with refereeing, including offering extra support and
training, help with report writing, encouragement to attend disciplinary
hearings to earn more respect and a warm welcome in clubhouse bars than a
tendency to “slink off”.
He added, “Discipline offences
against referees continue to increase and therefore current punishments do not
appear to be a deterrent. “I believe
clubs with players and officials who abuse referees either on or off the field
should lose league points”. “Loss of promotion or relegation or a better league
position might well prompt team-mates and club officials to encourage and force
the offenders to improve their behaviour towards referees – or stop playing.
And
Beat The Abuse
Congratulations to the Hellenic
League for their zero tolerance approach to vile language during matches. And
hats off to the Suffolk County FA who have called for points cuts if players
abuse match officials. We said all this two years ago when we launched our Clean Up Our Game campaign which found
widespread support throughout Non-League. It is a message that needs repeating
as often as possible. The new season is upon us. Let’s hope for a fresh
attitude as well as a new beginning. Sadly, though, we won’t be holding our
breath.