Let’s work to clean up our game

THE announcement by the Premier League, Football League and the FA that there is going to be a crackdown on player behaviour in the coming season is a welcome one.

It is never a pleasant sight to see a bunch of snarling players surrounding a referee and putting him under intense pressure in a match. Or to see players mouthing obscenities when they disagree with an official’s decision.

It’s not a good look for the Premier League when there are fans from all around the world watching the matches on television.

As National League chief executive Michael Tattersall says, this new purge on poor behaviour is largely targeted at the top-flight.

But we all know, as Non-League lovers, that our game is not perfect.

Yes, there is honest graft and endeavour and you don’t often get the theatrics of the top players, but there are also occasions when players lose their rag with referees and attempt to intimidate them, whether this is physically or verbally.

So it’s encouraging that Non-League chiefs are supporting the new plans to give greater powers to referees to clamp down on bad behaviour on the pitch or, for that matter, on the touchline.

Yes, we might see a glut of red and yellow cards in the opening stages of the season, it may well spoil some matches, but that will be a small price to pay if the overall conduct on the field improves.

Sometimes there needs to be stiff punishments in place – and no one can say they haven’t been warned.