A TOP line referee from East Lancashire is urging football's governing bodies to bring in the 10-yard rule across the board in a bid to clean up the game.

Preston-based official Phil Richards has seen first hand what effect the new changes could have on the game after it was used as part of a Football League experiment during an Auto Windscreens Shield clash he reffed between Hull City and Chester earlier in the season.

And with the English FA now set to pass on their recommendations to UEFA, Richards would like to see the rule implemented worldwide.

The new rule - which has been used in Jersey as well as this season's Auto Windscreens Shield - penalises teams for dissent, giving refs the power to move a free kick forward 10 yards.

And, after being well received by managers and officials alike, Richards believes it will help cut out the kind of scenes which were witnessed at Old Trafford recently, when a posse of angry Manchester United players turned on referee Andy D'Urso.

"When we used it in the Auto Windscreens Shield earlier in the season it made a tremendous difference to the behaviour of the players from both teams - whether they were attacking or defending," said Richards.

"In the game I did, I didn't have any problems with dissent or players arguing the toss because they knew if they did, they'd get punished. "I didn't even have to implement the law itself on the night because the attitude of the players was brilliant.

"It also made the game faster and, as a result, the ball was in play far more than usual which is what the fans pay to see.

"But I think the new changes would make the biggest impact at junior level because that's where you really do get a lot of grief.

"The amount of stick referees get for a tenner on a Saturday puts a lot of them off progressing through the ranks.

"And that has a knock-on effect on refereeing standards in general because, if you have a bigger pool of refs to chose from, presumably you'll get more good ones coming through to the top level."

Meanwhile, Richards, who works for Blackburn with Darwen Council, was this week appointed as fourth official for the forthcoming Worthington Cup clash between Tranmere and Leicester City at Wembley later this month. The match will go down in history as the first Wembley final to feature a female official, with Wendy Toms set to run the line.

And, though the whole issue of women referees has sparked great controversy, Richards believes it's all part of moving the game forward. "A lot of traditionalists probably think it's not right but if she can do the job then it doesn't matter if she's a man or a woman.

"It takes a lot of guts for women to get into what is undoubtedly a male-dominated sport, so I've got a lot of admiration for what she has done. "It's not easy for anyone to be a referee.

"And for a woman to come through the ranks like that deserves a lot of credit."

For Richards, too, the game is something of a landmark, being his first major final since he started out in the early 1970s.

And he's sure to come under the microscope after the rumpus over the fourth official during Tranmere's controversial FA Cup clash with Sunderland last month.

"Looking back at that incident, too many things happened at once which resulted in confusion.

"But that's easy to say in the cold light of day," said Richards.

"Everyone has since learned a lot from that incident and I'm quite certain people will be more concerned with absorbing the atmosphere at Wembley on the day rather than worrying about what has happened in the past.

"I'm certainly over the moon about being appointed.

"Obviously, every boy's ambition is to go to Wembley one day in some capacity so for me to be involved in such a prestigious occasion is absolutely fantastic."

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