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August 13, 2011

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Players told to set better example as season opens

WITH the Premier League season starting today against the backdrop of civil disorder in England, football authorities urged players to set a better example to youngsters.

A crackdown on bad behavior on the pitch was launched, including an attempt to eradicate unacceptable criticism and abuse of referees by players and managers.

English Football Association chairman David Bernstein sees the reinvigorated "Get on with the Game" initiative as "even more important in the light of what is happening in wider society."

"The role models that footballers and managers are, there is a great responsibility on them to do everything they can, and we all can, to work together and to accentuate the positives and do everything we can to help deal with these wider issues," Bernstein said.

"On the pitch behavior is so important, both directly in the way it affects youngsters playing football, but also in terms of wider behavior."

An initially peaceful protest over a police shooting in north London turned violent, triggering wider lawlessness that police struggled to halt and ultimately led to Tottenham's Premier League opener against Everton today being postponed.

"If you don't behave properly, how can you expect the younger people around you to behave properly?" West Bromwich Albion manager Roy Hodgson said at the Premier League's season launch.

Nearly 1,200 people have been arrested since Saturday.

 

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