FIFA refereeing chief Pierluigi Collina condemns rise in referee abuse as ‘the CANCER that kills football’… as plans are approved to trial sin bins in bid to improve behaviour towards officials
- Football chiefs discussed the abuse of referees at an IFAB meeting on Tuesday
- FIFA’s Pierluigi Collina labelled the abuse as ‘the cancer that kills football’
- Pressure is easing on Man United boss Erik ten Hag: Listen to It’s All Kicking Off
FIFA refereeing chief Pierluigi Collina has hit out at the rise in abuse directed at officials.
The International Football Association Board (IFAB) met for crunch talks in London on Tuesday to discuss the laws of the game and whether any changes were necessary.
During the meeting, Collina spoke about his concerns with the way that referees are being treated and stated that ‘this might be the cancer that kills football’ unless it is stamped out.
Collina and his colleagues hope to improve behaviour towards officials by trialling 10-minute sin bins at the higher levels of professional football.
Plans for the trial were approved on Tuesday, with the sin bins to be implemented for ‘dissent and specific tactical offences’.
Abuse directed at referees is on the rise, and is causing concerns for football chiefs
FIFA refereeing chief Pierluigi Collina has labelled referee abuse ‘the cancer that kills football’
Ten-minute sin bins are set to be trialled to try and improve behaviour towards referees. This will also mean only captains can approach the referee in ‘certain major situations’
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Mail Sport has launched a campaign to stop the abuse of referees to help boost the game
It was also agreed that captains will be the only ones permitted to approach the referee in ‘certain major situations’.
Collina’s comments come in the wake of Mail Sport’s campaign to kick out the mistreatment of referees after two young grassroots officials opened up on the It’s All Kicking Off podcast about the physical and verbal abuse they have received during their careers.
Rhys Baldwin took the decision to quit refereeing in April after 11 years. The 25-year-old shockingly explained how he had knives pulled on him and his car keyed in response to refereeing decisions he made in matches.
Fellow former referee George Sleigh, who quit after suffering a broken jaw from a player he had sent off in a five-a-side match, believes behaviours must change at the top but also at the bottom.
Rhys Baldwin (left) and George Sleigh are two young referees who have quit due to abuse
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The treatment of referees has been brought into sharp focus at the highest level of the game in recent weeks.
Erik ten Hag and Mauricio Pochettino both served touchline bans over the weekend after accumulating three yellow cards this season for dissent.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was also charged for his comments following his side’s 1-0 defeat by Newcastle earlier this month, where he labelled the officiating for the Magpies’ winning goal ‘a disgrace’.
Meanwhile, Brighton skipper Lewis Dunk was shown a straight red card during his team’s 3-2 win against Nottingham Forest on Saturday for his use of inappropriate language towards referee Anthony Taylor.
Erik ten Hag watched Man United’s latest match from the stands after being given a touchline ban
Brighton captain Lewis Dunk was shown a straight red card on Saturday for the language he used towards referee Anthony Taylor
The England international is set to serve a two-match ban for his conduct at the City Ground.
Statistics revealed as part of Mail Sport’s campaign show how offences for dissent have more than doubled among players and almost quadrupled among coaches in English football this season, when compared to last term.
Mail Sport’s campaign to stop referee abuse has been backed by the FA who stated last week: ‘Referees are the lifeblood of our game’.
‘We support the Daily Mail campaign to encourage and promote respect towards them,’ an FA spokesperson said.
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