Players to get DVDs on how to tackle
A "how to tackle" DVD will be sent to clubs next week after a rash of high-profile incidents this season have left managers, players and pundits scratching their heads.
Several examples of the two-footed tackle have raised questions about the interpretation of Law 12 of the game, with some players such as Manchester City Vincent Kompany getting punished while others do not.
Mike Riley, general manager of Professional Game Match Officials Limited, has met with the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) and the League Managers Association (LMA) as well as leading referees to clarify exactly when a tackle will be deemed dangerous.
"We wanted to get a collective game view rather than just a referee view as to where to draw the line," Riley, a former FA Cup final referee, said in a statement.
"The consensus was that there will always be tackles that are borderline but it's important to return to the message that the players have consistently had over the last three years.
"That message is that if you commit to a tackle that's at speed and with intensity, typically with both feet off the ground, then you put yourself at risk of being sent off."
The DVD is intended to show the difference between careless tackles, reckless tackles and tackles using excessive force using examples from recent Premier League matches.
"(Law 12) specifies the distinction between careless, reckless and excessive force. Ultimately, it's about determining the difference between yellow card and red card offences," Riley said.
"We know that 70 percent of tackles are clean and 25 percent are fouls which are careless and require no further action. That's great credit to the skill of the players and the responsibility they take towards their opponents."
The PGMOL report said that 15 000 tackles had been made in the Premier League so far this campaign, nine percent up on the same stage last season. However, there had been a seven percent decline in the number of yellow cards for tackling.
City's Kompany received a four-match ban for a two-footed tackle on Manchester United winger Nani despite barely making contact while a week later, Liverpool's Glen Johnson went unpunished for a similar tackle in a League Cup semifinal against City, leading to accusations of inconsistency.