The FA is "getting tough on injury fakers" as it rolls out "a raft of rule changes" for the start of the Premier League season, according to Sam Cunningham of the London DAILY MAIL.
Under new regulations, players who "are deemed to have got an opponent sent off by feigning injury will face an FA charge and potential three-match ban." The FA has "travelled to clubs across the country to explain the new rules to players and managers." A "technical area Code of Conduct" has been outlined to club bosses "in an attempt to clean up discrepancies on the touchline." Rules regarding players confronting a referee on the pitch "have also been tightened up." Last season, disciplinary action "could be taken against clubs if three or more of their players approached the referee and argued in an aggressive manner, but that has been reduced to only two."
The FA hopes "to tackle a steep rise in charges for that offence last season." The offside rule "has also been tweaked, so that if a player is in an offside position and attempts to go for a ball the linesman will flag and any goal will be ruled out even if that player does not touch it" (DAILY MAIL, 8/6).
