MANCHESTER, England (AP) — The English Premier League’s boss says highly paid soccer players are becoming increasingly isolated from the real world in announcing a crackdown on bad behavior toward referees.
The 20 top clubs agreed Thursday to launch a campaign before next season to try to stop unacceptable criticism and abuse of referees by players and managers.
League chief executive Richard Scudamore says they aren’t “demonizing” players, “but the mood is that things could improve.”
He says “the contrast between what is happening in their world and what is happening in the rest … of the world is getting starker.”
Manchester United’s Rafael da Silva was fined after confronting and appearing to swear at a referee when he was sent off in January.
