England

Football Assossiation to introduce code of conduct

By Matt Cotton, Reporter | 10 October 2012

The FA plan to bring in a code of conduct in order to advise England players on what they expect in terms of behaviour in the wake of the recent Ashley Cole saga.

FA Chairman David Bernstein has revealed that English football's governing body will bring in a code of conduct for England players.

The move follows a number of recent high-profile indiscretions from Three Lions players, with Ashley Cole the latest to cause a stir.

With the new laws ready to be implemented into the game, players could now face bans for breaking the rules.

"They are incredible role models with incredibly high profiles and their behaviour is extremely important," said Bernstein.

"This really should have been brought in years and years ago.

"These guys share a desire to play for England. They really do value it. But the FA is a complicated organisation. Having the whole regulatory side alongside Club England has created a degree of confusion. There has been a lack of clarity and the fact we haven't sat down with them has led to a bit of fuzziness."

Bernstein, Club England managing director Adrian Bevington, FA chief executive Alex Horne and the FA's director of football development Sir Trevor Brooking have given Roy Hodgson's men a 10-minute bullet point presentation on what they demand in terms of behaviour from the players.