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Jamie Vardy confronts referee Jonathan Moss.

New rules mean swearing at referees will earn Premier League players a red card

The laws are being implemented to combat “intolerable behaviour” towards officials.

THE PREMIER LEAGUE, English Football League and Football Association have outlined new laws to target “intolerable behaviour” in English football.

Beginning this season, red cards will now be issued to players who aim offensive or abusive language or gestures at referees during matches.

Yellow cards will be shown to any player who runs to confront an official about a decision, while a referee may book at least one player if they are surrounded by two or more team-mates.

Behaviour in technical areas will also be more strictly enforced as part of the plans to curb poor conduct, which the Premier League claims has reached “unacceptable levels”.

The highest number of yellow cards accrued by one team for dissent in the Premier League last season was West Brom, who picked up nine.

“We and our clubs have been discussing for some time concerns that certain elements of player behaviour are overstepping the mark and it is our collective position that these types of behaviour should no longer be tolerated,” said Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore.

Things happen in the heat of the moment during fast and highly competitive football; we still want to see the passion fans enjoy and demand, but players and managers have to be aware there are lines that should not be crossed.”

According to the statement, offences which could earn a yellow card now include:

  • Visibly disrespectful behaviour to any match official
  • An aggressive response to decisions
  • Confronting an official face to face
  • Running towards an official to contest a decision
  • Physical contact with any match official in a non-aggressive manner
  • When two or more players surround a match official (at least one yellow card will be shown)

Red cards will be shown when:

  • Players confront match officials and use offensive, insulting or abusive language and/or gestures towards them
  • Players use physical contact with officials in an aggressive or confrontational
  • manner

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    Mute Sean Flanagan
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    Jul 20th 2016, 2:04 PM

    Good.

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    Mute Alan b
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    Jul 20th 2016, 2:35 PM

    What if the player says it in his native tongue will the the referee need an interpreter now?

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    Mute Conor Alexander Lynott
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    Jul 20th 2016, 5:30 PM

    Uh generally people can tell by tone of voice.

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    Mute Paul O Mahony
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    Jul 20th 2016, 10:04 PM

    About fooking time

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    Mute Declan Snow
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    Jul 20th 2016, 2:09 PM

    They will have to continually enforce this. But in typical fashion I predict they’ll do it for a few weeks, forget about it until some ref pulls it back out some random day and people go mad coz such and such a player/team got away with it the previous week

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    Mute ktsiwot
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    Jul 20th 2016, 2:06 PM

    This will be fun, there will be some amount of red cards on the way.

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    Mute Anthony Ryan
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    Jul 20th 2016, 2:40 PM

    For a week, maybe ten days.

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    Mute Roomba Roomba
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    Jul 20th 2016, 2:10 PM

    James McClean is f*cked so

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    Mute Barry Newell
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    Jul 20th 2016, 11:42 PM

    Himself and Wayne Rooney might as well retire…although I suppose McLean still has Twitter

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    Mute John McCabe
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    Jul 20th 2016, 2:07 PM

    About time

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    Mute William Motley
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    Jul 20th 2016, 2:10 PM

    That’s Rooney done

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    Mute Tommy Greene
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    Jul 20th 2016, 2:14 PM

    Terry should just retire !!

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    Mute Niall Martin
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    Jul 20th 2016, 2:09 PM

    I’ll believe it when I see it. Referees already had the power to deal with these guys under ‘unsportsmanlike conduct’ but didn’t.

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    Mute Rick Mooney
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    Jul 20th 2016, 2:18 PM

    Finally! Needs to be done globally and at every level of the game, too.

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    Mute Dundee
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    Jul 20th 2016, 2:22 PM

    It’s about time. Look at Rugby the respect the referees get is great and there half the size of them.

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    Mute Professional Chef
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    Jul 20th 2016, 2:41 PM

    It’s the size of the brain that counts not the size of the person.

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    Mute Darach Malone
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    Jul 20th 2016, 6:02 PM

    It’s a cultural thing. From the age of 8 onwards in rugby you are told that the ref must be respected at all times so when you get to adulthood you already know the correct way to behave on a rugby pitch. It needs to be enforced from underage up in football too. Very hard just to bring it in overnight. No player but the captain should be allowed speak to the ref unless the red says otherwise.

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    Mute David O Connor
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    Jul 20th 2016, 2:13 PM

    Glk Chelsea.

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    Mute damien o brien
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    Jul 20th 2016, 2:35 PM

    Paddy powers red card market odds just got a whole lot skinnier

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    Mute Nigel Fogarty
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    Jul 20th 2016, 2:43 PM

    Hope the refs are up to date on their Spanish swear words such as hijo de puta, cabron and maricon . And that’s only the Spanish . Then again since Brexit you are prob only allowed curse in English ,any immigrant cursing will result in dismissal then deportation .

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    Mute george holmes
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    Jul 20th 2016, 3:41 PM

    The first free kick or pen a ref gives and there’s 4/5 players around the ref giving out, now that’ll be interesting. Let’s just hope all refs are consistent now with the new rules.

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    Mute Jimmy Murphy
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    Jul 20th 2016, 3:34 PM

    I thought swearing at the ref was already a red card only but in reality just wasn’t enforced

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    Mute Tony Mcgrath
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    Jul 20th 2016, 3:12 PM

    It’s a penalty to push and drag in penalty area is this been enforcd ??

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    Mute emily davison
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    Jul 20th 2016, 4:25 PM

    I’m amazing that it took this long. Most perfer league games are on before the water shed and kids now what Wayne Rooney is saying when he is mouthing the F word

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    Mute emily davison
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    Jul 20th 2016, 4:26 PM

    Will someone please think of the children

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    Mute David Murray
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    Jul 20th 2016, 2:45 PM

    And about time..these lads have very little manners so it’s a great decision to red card them..probably see a few of them stuck for words now,because they know no other way to speak to officials..

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    Mute Phil Sheppard
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    Jul 20th 2016, 2:08 PM

    This is all well & good, but, officials should be held accountable too. We video technology introduced to help them make correct decisions.

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    Mute Brown Boots
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    Jul 20th 2016, 2:23 PM

    …And lip reading technology in case the ref mis heard something and can get the video to check was it a flock or a sugar… Olive Juice! Is there a naughty list of phrases! Maybe once and for all can determine where bugger lies in the whole scheme of things!

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    Mute Declan Brady
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    Jul 20th 2016, 2:27 PM

    about time

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    Mute Colm Coughlan
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    Jul 20th 2016, 6:04 PM

    Hopefully it will stop players surrounding the ref looking for players to be booked.

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    Mute Ollie Watson
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    Jul 21st 2016, 12:18 AM

    No chat shit get banged?

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    Mute Rigsby
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    Jul 20th 2016, 3:10 PM

    Good but what happens to refs that makes a bags of a decisions

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    Mute bombboy
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    Jul 21st 2016, 1:01 AM

    Ah for f#<k sake!

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