LONDON—FIFA is thinking about introducing new measures to improve player behaviour towards match officials, chief officer for technical development Marco van Basten revealed on Saturday.
The former Netherlands striker and manager says football’s world governing body could follow the lead of rugby union, in which only team captains are allowed to speak to referees.
“There are a lot of players now who are complaining during a game,” Van Basten told the BBC.
“I am sure the behavior of the players can be better. We are thinking about putting it back in the right direction.”
Asked if football could learn from rugby, Van Basten said: “I think we can learn from every sport and they can learn from us, but we have to confront the problem.”
He added: “This is what we have to do to help the referees. We try to make a good product —dynamic, exciting —but in the end also honest.
“There’s a lot of emotion in the game and that’s what’s good, but we have to control it also.”
Meanwhile, the Kuwaiti government on Friday called on FIFA and the International Olympic Committee to temporarily lift a 14-month sports ban while it amends a controversial law.
The Gulf state’s public sports authority urged football’s governing body FIFA and the IOC to “lift the ban on Kuwaiti sports activities temporarily until relevant local laws are revised.”
World sports bodies led by FIFA and the IOC suspended Kuwait in October last year for the second time since 2010 over alleged government meddling in sports.
The suspension was due to legislation over recent years that allowed the government to interfere in local sports federations and undermine their independence.
In a statement Friday published by the official KUNA news agency, Kuwait’s sports authority said it was making “serious and relentless efforts” to have the ban lifted.
It said parliament would set up a panel on Tuesday next week to draft amendments to the relevant laws.
Kuwait is hoping to compete in the qualifiers for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, it said.
The wealthy emirate has already missed out on the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and qualification for the 2018 World Cup.
The government on Monday pledged in a letter to parliament to issue a new law within six months, conforming with the international sports charter, MP Abdulwahab al-Babtain said.
The authority also pledged to invite FIFA and the IOC to Kuwait to ensure the new legislation is agreed by all parties, Babtain said on his Twitter account.
The opposition, which won nearly half of the 50 seats in a parliamentary election last month, pressed the government to rectify bills that violate international sports laws.
Analysts say the crisis was partly caused by a political struggle involving senior ruling family members and politicians.