The English Football Association has announced some of the toughest disciplinary measures in the history of the game, including lengthy bans and heavy fines, to combat the rising tide of verbal and physical abuse being directed towards match officials by players and managers.
Under the new rules, if a group of players try to intimidate a referee, as Manchester United's were accused of doing last season against Middlesbrough, the guilty club could be fined up to £250,000 sterling and deducted two points.
The FA has defined mass intimidation of a referee as an incident involving three players or more. If any club were to be found guilty of the same offence within the same season, it could then be fined up to £750,000 with another two points deducted.
The FA was criticised last season for not taking action against United or Roy Keane, the captain who led the charge against referee Andy D'Urso.
The new rules are also stricter about individual players who try to verbally intimidate referees. Those found guilty will be liable to a minimum three-match ban plus a fine of one week's salary.
Disciplinary panels will be able to take into account the rank of a player and could increase the punishment if it is the team or club captain.
Managers who abuse referees or match officials from the touchline or dug-out face a minimum three-match suspension from the side of the pitch plus a fine of a week's wages.
The new rules are strictest over the striking or assaulting of referees. Under the new measures, a player found guilty of such an offence will be liable to a minimum 12match suspension and a fine of one month's salary.
When the former Sheffield Wednesday striker, Paolo Di Canio, shoved referee Paul Alcock to the ground during a Premiership match against Arsenal at Hillsborough in September 1998, he was banned for the maximum 11 games and fined £10,000.
Under the new rules, Di Canio would have been banned for a minimum of 12 games, and would be liable to a year-long suspension if he were to repeat the offence.
The FA's chief executive, Adam Crozier, said: "We have come up with a system that is fair, transparent and consistent. All players and clubs now know where they stand. It does not matter which club you play for because everyone will be treated in the same way.
"What happens in the Theatre of Dreams or anywhere else is replicated around the country. Players have to understand they are role-models. We are trying to make the system more consistent and saying to people that from here on in, everyone is on an equal footing. "I don't care if it's Manchester United or Macclesfield, everyone will be treated the same."
The new rules also go some way towards formalising the use of video evidence. From the start of the new season, three-member panels will study video evidence of incidents that might have been missed by the referee.
The panels will comprise a representative from the playing side, perhaps a former professional player or manager, someone from the referees' side and an independent legal expert. There will be a pool of up to 12 members.
The FA has ruled, however, that the video panel will be able to make decisions on cases of mistaken identity or wrongful dismissal only where the player has been served with a three-match ban.
A speedier disciplinary process is also being put in place. The FA said that it will aim to make decisions on whether charges are to be brought against a player within four days of any match.
Crozier said that all clubs would be notified of the new rules, which were drawn up in conjunction with the Premier League, players' and managers' representatives and referees.
