Players who gang up on match officials to contest decisions at Euro 2012 can expect a tough reaction, refereeing icon Pierlugi Collina warned on Wednesday.
"We don't want to have referees surrounded by protesting players. This is not good for the image of the match, for the image of football. Respect means also respecting referees," said the Italian, best known for his hard stare and bald head, who hung up his whistle in 2005 and is now UEFA's chief refereeing officer.
"So players will be informed that mobbing is not allowed, and a referee knows that if they are surrounded by players, some yellow cards, one or more, are to be expected," he told reporters at a training session in Warsaw, capital of Euro 2012 co-host Poland.
Collina said that players would also be given short shrift for piling into a dispute with their opponents.
"This is something that we want to ban from the field. We don't want to have 20 players in a mass confrontation. Players are aware, because this is something that is not new, that if a mass confrontation occurs on the field of play, at least two yellow cards will be given to the initiators of the mass confrontation," he underlined.
A total of 80 match officials tapped by UEFA for the looming European championships in Poland and Ukraine are spending this week in Warsaw, including the 12 high-profile referees themselves.
Collina said they were undergoing fitness tests and taking part in intensive workshops on the theory and practice of refereeing, to help make the right decisions on the day, notably over tackles.
"One of the main goals to be achieved on the pitch is to protect the players. Respect also means protecting players. We reminded the referees to be very, very careful in dealing with challenges that could create problems, that could endanger the safety of a player," he said.
At Euro 2012, which kicks off on June 8, UEFA will continue its experiment of having six match officials, in a drive to deal with disputed on-pitch decisions and keep an eye on behaviour on the bench.
Adding two extra linesmen, plus a standby, to the traditional trio of a referee and two linesmen has proven its mettle in the Champions League and Europa League, Collina noted.
Source: AFP
