Football referees in North and Central America and the Caribbean "have been instructed to stop matches in the event of racist chants or insults," according to the AP. CONCACAF said Monday that its exec committee "had adopted a protocol to deal with racist incidents." Referees "should stop games and order a public-address announcement calling for racist behavior to cease, including the display of racist banners." If racist behavior continues, the referee "should suspend matches for 5-10 minutes, send players to their locker rooms and order a second announcement." As a third step -- "a very last resort" -- referees "may decide to abandon the match" (AP, 1/13). INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL's Paul Nicholson reported post-match disciplinary proceedings "will be handled" by CONCACAF's Disciplinary Committee that "will decide on the level of the sanctions imposed on a case-by-case basis." The confederation will "provide training for integrity officers, match commissioners and the match day refereeing officials to help them in monitoring for incidents during high risk games." CONCACAF President Jeffrey Webb said, "The procedure outlines a clear and precise approach of zero tolerance for racist or discriminatory incidents that may arise during matches" (INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL, 1/14).
