Players must be punished for ref attacks

The calls were made by Tory MP Chris Heaton-Harris, who told the House of Commons that although he did not want a change to the law, he did want to Government to send out a "strong message".

Bosses at the Shropshire FA said criminal prosecutions should be carried out against players if the matter is serious enough.

Neil Sambrook, general manager at Shropshire FA, said: "I don't think the law needs to be changed but it does need to be applied when it is needed. We deal with it when it is a football issue and then the courts can come in if it is deemed a criminal issue.

"Thankfully these incidents are rare but when they do occur we have got the weight of the football law behind us."

Craig Rogers, manager of Morda FC, from the Mercian Regional League Premier Division, agreed a clear message had to be given to ensure county footballers did show respect to officials.

He said: "You have to remember these things are very rare and everybody, players, managers and referees go back to work on the Monday morning and need to get along.

"If players don't behave they must be dealt with by the football authorities and then by the courts if necessary."

Mr Heaton-Harris said: "It seems like the police and CPS are tending to treat quite serious assaults on football referees on the pitch as a footballing problem, and therefore not actually dealing with the issue in law."