End-of-season disciplinary figures released by The FA for the whole of England in 2013/14 suggest the Respect Programme has had a positive impact on football since its launch in 2008, with cautions for dissent down by 20%.
Statistics have been made available to coincide with the announcement of the 2013/14 Respect & Fair Play Award winners, who will be recognised at a ceremony prior to the FA Community Shield to thank them for their efforts to promote good conduct at every level of the English game. This includes all steps of affiliated football from the Premier League, the Football League and the FA National League System to grassroots County FA leagues.
Activity from 1,150 leagues is embraced in the discipline figures, featuring 117,000 teams and an estimated 1,400,000 fixtures for the campaign. It is possible to compare last season’s numbers with those from 2008/09 - the first season of the Respect Programme and, after six years, they suggest Respect has made an encouraging difference:
* all cautions are down by 4% [from 354,855 to 341,874]
* all dissent cautions are down by 20% [from 106,568 to 86,032]
* the percentage of dissent cautions to all cautions has fallen from 30% to 25%
* all dismissals are down by 13% [from 54,268 to 47,604]
* all misconduct charges in relation to team officials or spectators are down by 10% [from 19,938 to 17,969]
In addition, 112 FA grassroots leagues submit ‘Respect Marks’ at the end of each game. For the 2013/14 season, 148,000 reports were submitted and the average mark for behaviour out of 5 was 4.6. The average mark for enjoyment out of 5 was 4.4. In terms of match officials, England now has 28,204 registered referees - up from around 23,000 in 2008 - and the coverage of fixtures has improved considerably, as has their enjoyment of games.
This League is one of the 112 Leagues using the "Respect Marks". The average mark for behaviour of of 5 was 4.7 and the average mark out of 5 for enjoyment was 4.6, so above the national average.
Youth football in England has improved the environment through the introduction of designated spectator areas, Respect training for coaches, codes of conduct, Pitch Side Marshals, Parent Briefings and visual Respect signage. However, there is an ongoing need to educate a new intake of parents and their children every season.
Respect is the collective responsibility of everyone involved in football to create a fair, safe and enjoyable environment in which the game can take place. The FA are keen to reward those who immerse themselves in the Respect Programme and they received in excess of 550 nominations for the awards this year, detailing the contribution that so many people, leagues and clubs make to football in this country.
THE FA RESPECT AWARD WINNERS
Premier League Fair Play: Liverpool FC
Football League Championship Fair Play: Burnley FC
Football League One Fair Play: Walsall FC
Football League Two Fair Play: Exeter City FC
National League System (Leagues Steps 1-4): Northern Premier League
National League System (Leagues Steps 5-7): Kent County Football League (Kent County FA)
National League System (Clubs Steps 1-4): Skelmersdale United FC (Liverpool County FA)
Grassroots Leagues: Onyx Team Wear Grantham Football League (Lincolnshire County FA) and East Lancashire Football Alliance (Commended) (Lancashire County FA)
Grassroots Clubs: Longfleet Youth FC (Dorset County FA) and Layton Juniors FC (FA)
County FA Award: Derbyshire County FA
Respect Peoples Award: AFC Bournemouth and Jackie Smith (Kent County FA)
Bobby Moore Respect Individual Award: Peter Madley, Bengeo Tigers FC (Hertfordshire County FA)
Women’s League Award: Herefordshire Girls League (Herefordshire County FA)