
Referee chief Howard Webb has responded to high-profile criticism of the new time-wasting regulations by saying they’re “just trying to make the game fairer” and push out “dark arts” - putting it back on the players, as he also referred to their copy-cat influence on the wider game right down to grassroots.
“This has to change in our sport,” warned the chief refereeing officer of the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL). “People will have to understand that some behaviours that previously would have been managed or ignored will no longer be managed or ignored and those behaviours will stop.”