HERE’S WHAT THE BOSSES HAD TO SAY...

ARSENE WENGER (Arsenal)

We discussed shirt-pulling not only with the players but with the referees. What I see more and more is the position of the referees. Many times they are in the way of the pass because they want to be too close to the ball. The difficulty on corners is sometimes you have three different fouls and the referee has to choose the most obvious one. Only when you watch a game in slow motion can you see that there were two or three other fouls on the corner.

JOSE MOURINHO (Man Utd)

My problem with new rules is always consistency. If the penalty that favours Man City is always a penalty for every team, fine. The only problem is if it’s a penalty for Man City and not a penalty for Watford.

PEP GUARDIOLA (Man City)

Referees came and spoke to the players about the rules but we’ll speak to them again tomorrow. I don’t know if it’s happening more often but we must be aware of what happened at Stoke and be careful.

SLAVEN BILIC (West Ham)

It (shirt pulling in the area) has to stop. It was a good decision taken by the referees to be consistent. I don’t think it’s going to be that extreme like in the Stoke game, but last year there was a bit too much grabbing. I don’t think the crowd want to see it totally stopped — it’s not ballet.

DAVID MOYES (Sunderland)

We’ve definitely had to reassess how we defend at corners. I think if you pull somebody’s jersey in the area, it’s a penalty. We’re seeing a lot now of what you might term ‘cupping’ — you’re nearly hugging your man and saying ‘sorry you can’t move’. For me, that’s a penalty.

TONY PULIS (West Brom)

I’ve always believed in man-toman marking but I’m wondering if we need to switch to a zonal system. It’s something I’ll be looking at in the next few weeks.

ANTONIO CONTE (Chelsea)

Before the season referees came and explained. It’s good. It’s important to respect always the referee and the new rules.