Referees at Euro 2008 will come down hard on players who use excessive force or show dissent if they follow instructions they were given on Thursday. The 12 referees who will officiate at the June tournament in Austria and Switzerland were handed a six-point list of instructions at the end of a four-day workshop at their Euro 2008 base near Zurich. The instructions, compiled by European soccer’s governing body UEFA, order referees to ‘act firmly (red card) against challenges involving excessive force…including the illegal use of arms and elbows.’ UEFA said that players would also be expected to respect officials’ decisions. ‘Referees can accept a spontaneous expression of frustration from players,’ the instructions state, ‘but will firmly sanction players who show dissent to the referees by word or action.’ The referees have also been instructed to control holding or pushing in the penalty area prior to corners and free kicks and to punish ’simulation intended to deceive the referee’ with yellow cards. The list ends with a note to team coaches, advising them that they will be ‘left to do their jobs’ in the technical area immediately in front of the team bench provided they act responsibly. ‘If a coach openly criticises the referee, action will be taken to curb his behaviour,’ the instructions add. The list of the 12 Euro 2008 referees is the following: Konrad Plautz (Austria), Frank de Bleeckere (Belgium), Howard Webb (England), Herbert Fandel (Germany), Kyros Vassaras (Greece), Roberto Rosetti (Italy), Pieter Vink (Netherlands), Tom Henning Ovrebo (Norway), Lubos Michel (Slovakia),
Manuel Enrique Mejuto Gonzalez (Spain), Peter Frojdfeldt (Sweden) and
Massimo Busacca (Switzerland).
