Out of order: FA chief warns of crackdown on Fergie’s rants at referees

Lord Triesman, who announced wide-ranging measures yesterday to clean up football, also claimed referees will be given greater protection from foul-mouthed players.

Keep out of it: Referee Mark Clattenburg and Sir Alex Ferguson clash, a scenario that FA chairman Lord Triesman wants to stop.

The FA, who have the support of Barclays Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore for their 'Respect' programme, said the game was at crisis point after high-profile incidents last season when Chelsea's Ashley Cole turned his back on official Mike Riley and Liverpool's Javier Mascherano berated Steve Bennett.

But Manchester United manager Ferguson escaped unpunished when he appeared to question the integrity of Martin Atkinson following United's FA Cup defeat against Portsmouth and was also scathing about referees' chief Keith Hackett.

Ferguson claimed 'managers get sacked for decisions like that' after Atkinson failed to award United a penalty when Sylvain Distin appeared to trip Cristiano Ronaldo and he also claimed Hackett 'should be assessed'.

Lord Triesman warned: 'I don't mind how prominent a manager is, they are good leaders and that imposes some responsibilities.

'It's OK to say it looks like a bad decision has been made, but it's very different when they say a referee is in the pocket of another team. That has different implications.'

He added: 'Managers may not be saying a referee has cheated, but we have to get the language out of the accounts of referees' decisions.

'They have to think: 'What are the implications of saying this, what are the grounds?' They have no grounds whatsoever because they completely undermine the guy who runs the game.

'They have to ask if they have a right to say what they just did about a referee. If they think they did, it gives licence for other managers to say what they want.

'I have spoken to chairmen and managers of Premier League clubs and I know that in the heat of the moment people will melt down but we can change this over time. This has drifted too close to the rocks.'

The FA, who have been supported in their nationwide initiative by the Premier League, the Football League, the Professional Footballers' Association and the League Managers' Association, have given referees increased powers from the start of the season.

Managers and coaching staff who abuse or ignore the instructions of fourth officials in the technical area will be sent straight to the stands. Club captains will carry extra responsibility to help referees 'manage' games, meeting them before kick-off when team sheets are handed in, and will be the first point of contact whenever there is an explosive incident.

Furthermore, FIFA have imposed a new rule banning TV monitors in the dugouts. Lord Triesman claimed the game was 'at breaking point' after a season dominated by disciplinary issues.

'There were a number of incidents last year that attracted considerable attention where there was a breakdown in a serious regard to the referees' management of the game.

'These problems have been around for a while and we're going through a period where we've seen them get worse. We have to take a stand and say the game will do itself damage unless it can get back into a sense of proportion.

'Last season was a wake-up call. What we need to say is that we've recognised it, seen it and will deal with it. The sanctions are applied by the referees on the pitch. We're encouraging everybody to apply the rules to get consistency. We are going through a review of sanctions.'

His comments were endorsed by Scudamore, who added: 'Ashley Cole apologised for the incident with Mike Riley and that was the one that brought public attention to the situation. There was more when we had Javier Mascherano and Steve Bennett a few days later.

'Both players apologised and you could say they ended up doing the game a service by getting us to this point. We want to raise the profile so that we get prevention rather than sanctions.

'I don't want players coming on to the field this season who aren't aware that the times are changing at every level. We did it with simulation and diving. Now we can do it by shaming the players.'

The FA have revealed that an average of 7,000 referees at all levels are leaving the game every year and, although there are still more than 26,000 registered, there is a constant battle to replace those feeling disenchanted.