To combat violence and incivility, the FFF will equip amateur referees with cameras.

A firm decision... The French Football Federation will equip referees of sensitive amateur matches with chest cameras to combat violence and incivility, announced President Philippe Diallo during the FFF's general meeting in Clairefontaine on Saturday.

The first effect of this tool is "deterrence," the manager said. Players knowing they are being filmed should be less vindictive. The FFF explained that this system has already been tested this season in three districts: Loire, Grand Vaucluse, and Moselle.

In the Loire, this system has been applied to 140 matches since 2017, and in only two matches were the images subsequently used by the disciplinary committee, confirming the deterrent effect, the same source explains.

Other measures on the table

"We must provide an uncompromising response to these troublemakers who disrupt our competitions and prevent us from fully enjoying the pleasure of playing football," Diallo commented. The federal president assured that "the Federation will be extremely firm" and requested "that the scale of sanctions be increased, so that in the event of an attack on a referee resulting in a total incapacity for work (ITT), the sanction against the aggressor could go as far as a "lifetime" suspension, at least long enough so that the offender cannot be seen on the pitch again."

The FFF has proposed other measures to combat violence and incivility in amateur football. These include requiring only captains to address referees, as is the case in professional football , introducing temporary match suspensions where both teams return to their penalty area to relieve pressure, and using a white card to temporarily exclude a player for incivility.

The FFF's Executive Committee also proposed that the Federation systematically file a civil complaint, along with the leagues and districts, in the event of attacks on referees.