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Carlo Ancelotti Charged With Being Too Nice To Referees

LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 17:   Referee Howard Webb looks on during the FA Cup sponsored by E.ON semi final match between Bolton Wanderers and Stoke City at Wembley Stadium on April 17, 2011 in London, England.  (Photo by Jamie McDonald/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 17: Referee Howard Webb looks on during the FA Cup sponsored by E.ON semi final match between Bolton Wanderers and Stoke City at Wembley Stadium on April 17, 2011 in London, England. (Photo by Jamie McDonald/Getty Images)
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The title is not a joke. Carlo Ancelotti (alongside SIr Alex Ferguson) has actually been warned by the FA for being overly complimentary towards match official Howard Webb ahead of Chelsea's 2-1 defeat to Manchester United. Fortunately, the FA didn't do anything insane like press charges, but they've threatened to do so if the referee is talked about in a complimentary fashion ahead of the match in the future.

[The comments made by Ancelotti and Ferguson are in] clear breach of the rule and it is the first time such a matter has been placed in front of a commission. As a result of this charge, the commission were aware of other occasions where pre-match comments were made by other managers.

In this case, it was considered to be a minor breach and it should be taken as a warning to all managers in the future that any such breach, even positive comments, are likely to result in a charge by the FA.

It sounds like the FA is going to clamp down hard on any comments regarding referees at all before the match, which I suppose is a sensible approach - they don't want any manipulation of referees by coaches, after all. However, there are some harmless comments and some harmful ones, and it seemed as though both managers' discussion of Webb fell into the former category and were simply reacting to the fan outcry over Webb's supposed pro-United bias. Seems a little strange to get on their cases about that.

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