Football

Frank Lampard suggests the big lesson footballers could learn from England rugby stars


The Chelsea manager was speaking ahead of the Rugby World Cup final, which will see England take on South Africa in Yokohama on Saturday.

And as the two sides prepare to meet to see who will lift the Webb Ellis Cup, Lampard thinks football can take a page out of how players and the referees conduct themselves on the field.

The Chelsea boss even thinks a meeting with the England rugby squad could be beneficial to his players, who have picked up 18 yellow card in 10 Premier League games this season.

“I think we should maybe have a sit-down with them,” said Lampard.

“Because I was also thinking how well restrained – not restrained, there is no reason you should be restrained – but how well Owen Farrell and every player, the NZ players as well, reacted to the referee.

“And I think it is certainly something we could take on board, take a deep breathe sometimes more than we do.”

The way referees are treated within the two sports are poles apart with footballers and managers often demanding opposition players are punished for their actions by the officials, while players in rugby do not openly dispute a decision made by an official.

And while captains of either side in rugby do speak to the referee and make their case about incidents that occur within the game, it is done for the most part with respect.

Unfortunately the same cannot be said about football.

And while the introduction of a video assistant referee into football was supposed to help make sure the correct decision is made, the new system has been plagued with teething problems and controversy.

Recently Premier League referees decided to hold a meeting to discuss the use of VAR following a recent spate of controversial decisions.

Last weekend VAR awarded four penalties and a red card and disallowed a goal during Premier League fixtures. Prior to this VAR had not awarded a penalty or a red card in 90 games.

Few would dispute that goal-line technology and VAR are valuable aids to the referee if used properly, but perhaps the introduction of referees being mic’ed up and harsher punishment for players who break the rules might be the direction football needs to take.

While Lampard thinks the respect shown between players and referees in Rugby is a lesson football can learn from.

“I think the respect in rugby seems to go both ways,” Lampard added.

“I think we could probably all learn.”



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