Alexis McAllister was booked for a virtual yellow card on the opening day of the season, while Pate Udogu was cautioned for a similar incident in September.
The head of PGMOL, Howard Webb, asked the referees to crack down on dissidents, starting with new measures against players who show fake yellow cards.
It follows a series of incidents in the Premier League, including referee Simon Hooper’s failure to send off Udogi. The Spurs defender showed his card when he received a yellow card against Liverpool last September, but no yellow card was issued.
However, other superstars who have received yellow cards this season have received warnings. Liverpool’s Alexis McAllister collapsed in last weekend’s opener against Chelsea but made it to the referee’s line-up after waving a yellow card at an opponent.
According to The Times, Webb told officials at a referees’ summit in Loughborough that the policy should be implemented consistently throughout the season and for years to come.
But the 52-year-old praised the team’s success in reducing violence against public officials, with Webb saying there have been no major confrontations this season compared to eight incidents last season.
Webb is also said to have called for the VAR system to be more accountable and step in when soft penalties go wrong. It comes after Webb ordered VAR against the on-field officials after Newcastle were awarded a penalty following Hwang Hee-chan’s foul on Fabian Schaer.
“I’ve said from the beginning that VAR shouldn’t referee the game, but there has to be a clear situation where there’s a clear error on the pitch and VAR corrects it,” Webb said last week. “VAR will look for clear evidence of this error and assess a variety of considerations – for example, did the defender hit the ball?
‘Is there communication between players?’
Anthony Taylor pointed to the spot when Hwangshar was blocked in the area. However, a replay showed that Hwang Hee-chan touched the ball first and Wolves said it was not a penalty kick.
VAR’s Jarred Gillett did not overturn the decision and Callum Wilson scored.
Howard Webb asked the VAR to ask the on-field official to impose a lighter penalty.“In this case, we see the contact between the two after Hwang Hee-chan misses the ball and Charmaine throws the ball to him, but the referee sees it in real time when Hwang Hee-chan goes through Charmaine’s legs.
Webb added. “If you watch the replay, you can see that Hee-chan Hwang pulls his swing back a little bit and misses the ball, missing his feet and making contact.
“We believe this situation was close to a flagrant foul, even though Hwang Hee-chan made contact and the ball was not played.
