PFA chairman Clarke Carlisle has called for a zero tolerance approach to diving and on-field confrontations to be adopted in football.
PFA chief urges for zero tolerance on diving
Professional Footballers Association chairman Clarke Carlisle has called for a zero tolerance approach to diving and on-field confrontations to be adopted in football.
Carlisle accepts that taking a hard line could spark a flurry of red cards and suspensions but he is convinced the sport would soon see the benefits and improve as a spectacle.
Last weekend saw two high-profile Premier League players accused of diving in the penalty area while there were also three instances of top-flight players arguing with team-mates.
Confrontations between rival players and the haranguing of referees are also not uncommon and Carlisle feels action should be taken.
The defender, on loan at Northampton Town from Burnley, said: "I genuinely believe if the FA, the Premier League and referees just took a zero tolerance line to diving and confrontation, either player to player or surrounding referees, you would see a month of madness.
"You would see red cards flying around left, right and centre but it would stop it because players would be missing two games, three games - then five, six, seven through suspension.
"They would miss key games and clubs would then take a stance on it. I believe you would then see it wiped out.
"If you just took the hard line, said we're not taking it any more, you might have a month of seven-a-side games but after that, because of the financial and professional ramifications, you would see a dramatic difference in players' behaviours."
Duty
As a current player himself, Carlisle accepts his views may not be welcomed by all his fellow professionals, but he feels he has a duty in his role with the union to help project the game positively.
The 32-year-old said: "I have to be mindful of my position as chairman of the PFA.
"I want our players to represent the game in the best possible way.
"I want them to be leading lights for future generations and want the game in England to be of the highest integrity in the world.
"To that end, we want it to be the cleanest game we have, the most genuine in the world, and that is the way forward."
