FA To Introduce Player Code Of Conduct
Football Association chairman David Bernstein has announced the governing body is set to launch a code of conduct for England players, following a number of recent indiscretions by internationals, most including defender Ashley Cole’s recent Twitter outburst.
Players who fall foul of the code could face suspension from international duty.
Bernstein told BBC Sport: ‘They are incredible role models with incredibly high profiles and their behaviour is extremely important. This really should have been brought in years and years ago.’
The Chelsea left-back found himself in trouble after posting a Twitter message insulting the FA in the wake of teammate John Terry’s hearing.
The 31-year-old later deleted the tweet and apologised to Bernstein before meeting Prince William when the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge officially opened the FA new centre of excellence at St George’s Park on Tuesday.
Bernstein, Club England managing director Adrian Bevington, FA general secretary Alex Horne and the FA’s director of football development Sir Trevor Brooking have given the senior England squad a 10-minute bullet point presentation on what they expect in terms of behaviour.
Players have not been banned from using Twitter by the FA but there will be punishments if they break the rules which will soon come into force.
