FA aim to bring back some respect

The Football Association are to hold talks with the professional game about improving the behaviour of both players and managers towards referees.

The FA are to invest a record £200million into grassroots football over the next five years and one of their priorities is players' behaviour.

The sport's governing body conducted the largest public consultation in their history, canvassing some 37,000 people to help generate the new National Game Strategy, 2008-12.

A key part of the initiative, which includes the recruitment and retention of referees and coaches as well as improving the skills of youngsters, is the RESPECT campaign, aimed at looking to address the poor attitude towards referees from players and parents watching on the sidelines.

Sir Trevor Brooking, the FA's director of football development, says poor behaviour is damaging the game at all levels. "There were a lot of issues and the big one was always behaviour," said Brooking. "There is just a lack of respect for officials wherever we went.

"We realised we had to do something and now we have pilot schemes in place. The next question is can you convince the professional game to buy into it?"