Ahead of the new Sligo-Leitrim District soccer League season, clubs, referees, match officials and league officials have agreed on a trial period, to allow only the team captain to speak to the match officials.
The move follows an initiative by European football’s governing body UEFA to try to stop groups of players “mobbing” referees.
While it was put into practice the recent UEFA European Championship in Germany where it was a bookable offence for players to approach referees during games unless they were captain.
Noel Kennedy, secretary of the Sligo-Leitrim District League says the move makes sense for all parties:
