Ref Halsey’s yellow card pact

FORMER Premier League referee Mark Halsey has revealed a top flight player approached him during a match in 2011 and asked to be booked — and that he agreed to do it. ‘The answer, honestly, is yes I have,’ said Halsey. ‘I have had a player ask me would I caution him. He just said: “Look, we’ve got a game Tuesday — if I don’t get cautioned now and get one Tuesday, I’ll miss the big derby on the Saturday”. ‘So he just asked me if I could show a yellow. And I did. I just said to him: “Don’t do nothing stupid, next time I give a decision against you” — because I knew it would happen as he was always getting cautioned anyway — “just boot that ball 50 yards down the other end and then I can caution you for dissent”. He came up to me at the end of the game and said, “Thanks for that Mark”.’ Halsey was talking on CNN ahead of England v Belgium, when the group could have been decided by fair play.