About Time - Red Cards For Swearing At Officials

I've never understood why more players are not carded for this offence as the rule already exists:

"insulting or abusive language towards a match official"

but the Premier League, English Football League and FA have now tightened the rules on players reacting or swearing at officials. Expect to see a lot of cards at the start of the season until players get used to it.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36844570



Plans designed to reduce "intolerable behaviour" by players and managers in English football have been announced.

In a statement, the Premier League, English Football League and Football Association said poor conduct has reached "unacceptable levels".

Starting this season, red cards will be issued to players who confront match officials and use offensive language or make gestures towards them.

Behaviour within the technical areas will also be more rigorously enforced.

Not one player has been sent off in the Premier League for insulting or abusive language towards a match official in the last five seasons.

But Premier League chairman Richard Scudamore said there has been concern "for some time" that players have been "overstepping the mark".

"It is our collective position that these types of behaviour should no longer be tolerated," he added.

"Things happen in the heat of the moment during fast and highly competitive football. We still want to see the passion fans enjoy and demand, but players and managers have to be aware there are lines that should not be crossed."

Offences which could earn players a yellow card

• Visibly disrespectful behaviour to any match official;
• An aggressive response to decisions;
• Confronting an official face to face;
• Running towards an official to contest a decision;
• Offensive, insulting or abusive language and/or gestures towards match officials;
• Physical contact with any match official in a non-aggressive manner;
• A yellow card for at least one player when two or more from a team surround a match official.

New red card offences

• If a player confronts match officials and uses offensive, insulting or abusive language and/or gestures towards them;
• Physical contact with match officials in an aggressive or confrontational manner.

 

The physical contact and threatening point is fine, but I can see the swearing rule getting massively overused and becoming stupid.

It's the nature of a football that tempers and emotions run high and swearing is a given in football matches, also, by their nature referees are always extremely thick skinned and bat off any swearing from players as being part of the game. If a ref makes a dodgy decision and a player tells him to **** off, it will be ridiculous if it's not classed as a red card offense. Football players are full of adrenaline and intensity on the pitch, they're not going to wander up to the ref after a contentious decision and say "well I thoroughly respect you opinion old chap, but I thought you got that decision slightly wrong, everything's subjective though, so you're entitled to your opinion".

I can see things getting silly.

 

It doesn't take long to learn to say 'Come On Ref' or something like that instead of '**** Off Ref'. We have to learn it at work and manage, so there is no reason why they can't.

 

Don't agree. One example would be Rugby is a lot more physical and aggressive as a game and as emotional but referees in Rugby don't get subjected to the the ridiculous tantrums that our prima donna footballers have been allowed to get away with.

The action now being taken is well overdue.

 

Yes I agree it is too much, and steps need to be taken - the days of Fergie-era Man U with the entire squad decending on the ref every time the opposition get a free kick need to stop.

However my point was more about those rules above, and how they can be easily twisted or abused, it particular "running up to an official to contest a decision", which is almost an impulsive response at a football match, or "an aggressive response to a decision"....there is a massive amount of subjectivity to what determines "an aggressive response".

 

If one player does it, and does it without being aggressive, then I don't think too much will happen. But if others join him then someone is getting booked. I expect refs to use a bit of common sense to start with and try and book any players not on a yellow first - but that will depend how aggressively it is done and what is said.

 

Instead of clamping down on something like this, perhaps players that use 'sportsmanship' to win free kicks, penalties and get other players booked/ sent off should be given automatic red cards.

 

Or even do both at the same time.

 

I agree with you entirely penfold

 

So what will the odds be on Mitro getting red in every game he plays?

 

At least we will never ever see that moron Wayne Rooney on a football pitch again. Constantly swearing his head off at officials so he will be banned in perpetutity. Horrible scouse prick.

 

I would have thought the sensible approach would have been to enforce discipline through a yellow card rather than a straight red, 2 yellows as ever lead to a sending off, referees have done little in the past to deal with players in these circumstances so should shoulder some blame for this in the game, same as my pet hate of not enforcing throw ins from where they should be and allowing players to steal ground, imagine what a rugby ref would say if a team tried that on a line out.

 

You mean gamesmanship? Sportsmanship like staying on your feet when fouled should be rewarded!

 

Gamesmanship or in English...

cheating.

 

But I can still call the ref a ****, right?

Has to be said, though, the refs need to grow a pair and get over themselves. It's not like they are getting lynched in matches. Yellow cards should be sufficient and frankly I'd be more in favour of the rules changing so the refs can swear back at the players if they are getting stick.

 

Yellow and red cards needs doing away with anyway. We need sin bins. Swear at a ref in the first minute and you are sentboff and penalised for 89 min. Would be fairer for a 10 or 15 minute period off the pitch. A foul on your player now gets you a yellow card which may mean that their player is missing suspended in the next game against your closest rivals in the league so they get the benefit of the offence and punishment, not you in the actual match it happened in, and meanwhile your fouled player is subbed off and taken to hospital. Far better to make a yellow card equate to time off the pitch for that player in the match he committed the offence. The yellow and red card system is not fit for purpose

 

About time too, but, not much point, unless the Referees are consistent across the board, otherwise, it'll descend into farce.

 

Two questions here...

1- can they swear in foreign languages?

2- can we swear at mods on here still? They are a pack of bastards mind....

 

After considerable thought I think the answers are:

1. Yes. It's just proposed to give red cards for swearing not take out their tongues.
2. We've got mods? You'd never have guessed.

 

This law has been in the game since I started to kick a tin can down the back alley in the 60s. Something to do with "Ungentlemanly Conduct" I believe covers this quite adequately.

Any form of back chat to the referee, putting him under pressure or the like should be dealt with a straight red card. It's quite simple: if you don't like the game that the referee is managing then feel free to leave the pitch and to find another.