5 Aug 2009FA bans pre-match comments about referees

Football Leagues/ Association and Governance

The Football Association (FA) has moved to protect referees and other match officials by banning managers and players from talking about them in the lead-up to the match.

Disciplinary action will be brought against those who make disparaging remarks about referees before a game, with action being prompted by growing concern at how officials have been subjected to "harassment" or "intimidation".

Mike Riley's failure to award a penalty for Manchester United in their defeat by Everton in last season's FA Cup semi-final is one example of this, with Sir Alex Ferguson attributing Riley's reluctance to award the spot-kick to Toffees manager David Moyes' pre-match assertion that the chosen referee was a United fan.

While managers will still be able to speak about incidents which occurred during a particular match after it has finished, incidents such as the one involving Moyes will not be permitted under the new rules.

"Post-match comments in relation to match officials and incidents are still permitted provided they are not personal in their nature, imply bias or attack the integrity of the officials in charge of the match, or in any other respect bring the game into disrepute," an FA statement confirmed.

Everton went on to beat Manchester United in a penalty shoot-out after their semi-final ended 0-0 after extra time.

However, Chelsea lifted the cup after beating Everton 2-1 in the final at Wembley.

Written by Paul Roberts

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