KNVB, Eredivisie, and Keuken Kampioen Divisie tighten guidelines on dealing with protests towards referees

Sportsmanship and respect are essential core values of football. To improve sportsmanship and respect on and around the football field, increased collaboration between referees and team captains can be beneficial.

An intensified collaboration between captains and referees will be introduced. Specifically, this means:

• The referee will provide explanations to the captain(s) on important decisions during the match when necessary.
• The captain will be responsible for directing teammates away from the referee.
• Any teammate who ignores these instructions and approaches the referee inappropriately, behaves disrespectfully, or protests, will receive a yellow card.
• If the captain is the goalkeeper, the team must designate an outfield player to assume this role when the goalkeeper is not near the referee.

The tightening of the rule will be implemented at all levels, both in professional and amateur football. This means that the measure will be applied across all competitions and everyone involved in football will be affected. The KNVB also expects administrators, coaches, and trainers to widely publicize the new guideline within their associations and clubs.

Prior to the start of the season in amateur football, all involved parties will receive more information on how everyone can contribute to making this transition smooth. It is a shared responsibility of all those involved in a match, alongside the referee. We can all make a significant contribution to increased sportsmanship on the football fields.