Zero tolerance is the right approach

Referee Adrian Holmes gets surrounded by Glossop players after awarding Shaw Lane their second penalty in the FA Vase quarter-final tie in March 2015

The news that the FA, Premier League and Football League are clamping down on “intolerable behaviour” is long overdue.

The level of swearing and intimidation towards match officials from players and coaches at all levels reached an unacceptable level a long time go, but the leading authorities have failed to act, until now.

The news must also treated as a major step forward for the future of semi-professional football. There are players and members of coaching staff out there who set out to intimidate the referee, regardless of whether their team is winning, drawing or losing. The crackdown should stop serial offenders in their tracks.

A pet hate of mine is players and full teams surrounding referees. Far too many players get away with sprinting 30/50-yards to confront the officials. Following the approach Rugby Union and League referees take towards bad language and dissent is the right way forward. Rugby Union and League players behave themselves, why can’t footballers?

Poor behaviour must affect attendances too, certainly at the lower end of the pyramid. Non League football tries to portray itself as a family sport, but when you see the level of swearing and behaviour,  any father would think twice about taking his five-year-old to a game? Poor discipline makes some games unbearable to watch.

Referee Michael Denton was constantly surrounded by Stafford players throughout Shaw Lane’s 2-0 victory last October

The Toolstation Northern Counties East League have led the way for a long time in terms of advocating better behavioural standards

The 112-day ban from NCEL football for players reaching over ten games in suspensions over a two-year period is a fantastic piece of regulation and has helped improve standards at step five or six.

There is also the directive – also in force across a few leagues – which decrees that coaches who are dismissed from the touchline have to sit out the rest of the game in the changing rooms. The directive has been in force for two seasons and has made a huge difference to behaviour in the dugouts. Managers and coaches set the tone and if they are aggressive, so are their team.

The ball is in the court of referees when the respective league campaigns begin. A few harsh yellow and red cards in the first few weeks of the season, will soon make players and coaches toe the line. Zero tolerance is right approach

The Sheffield & Hallamshire Senior Cup debacle came to a sensible conclusion this week.

Instead of dishing out a severe punishment, the Sheffield FA handed Shaw Lane a large fine – one that was much bigger until an appeal brought it down by more than half.

The big lesson from the story is that part-time clubs should not be made to play on two consecutive nights, it is unfair on players, officials and supporters. It is totally unreasonable. The Sheffield FA should also make sure that future finals do not clash with the play-offs in the Evo Stik and NCEL.

The Evo Stik League’s starring role in the sorry episode should not be forgotten and they certainly don’t come out of it smelling of roses.

If the Evo Stik had moved Shaw Lane’s play-offs semi-final against Lincoln United to the Thursday night, the Senior Cup final would have gone ahead.

Well done to the Toolstation Northern Counties East League for getting their fixtures finished inside just one week.

The NCEL gets a lot of criticism because of how late the fixtures are released, but in reality their hands are tied. The NCEL has to wait for the Evo Stik League to announce theirs before they even start to think about compiling the fixtures.