LONDON (AP)-Football captains will have an added responsibility in England when the new season starts later this month: helping referees to prevent bad behavior by players.
The Football Association on Tuesday launched its "Respect" campaign, a program aimed at improving the behavior of players at all levels of football in England.
Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore said examples of bad behavior by footballers - including Chelsea's Ashley Cole turning his back on a referee and Liverpool's Javier Mascherano refusing to accept he had been red-carded - were behind the program.
"Football engages, motivates and inspires but we know it can spill over and get ugly. We all have responsibility to deal with these excesses and I sense now there is a dedication from all quarters - including the media - to do that," Scudamore said.
Team captains will carry extra responsibility to help referees to control games, meeting them before kickoff in Premier League matches and being called upon to help the officials stamp out incidents of dissent during matches.
Neale Barry, English football's head of referee development, said captains "must accept a new level of responsibility for the conduct of their teams and work closely with the referee."
The FA said an average of 7,000 referees at all levels are leaving the game every year and, although there are still more than 26,000 registered, there is a constant battle to replace those feeling disenchanted.
