STOP THE ABUSE: From Premier League to Sunday football, referees have had enough of threats, intimidation and spittle-flecked insults. Today Mail Sport launches a major campaign

One referee pinch a surgery jaw. Another threatened pinch a Stanley weapon and forced to discontinue nan crippled he loves. These are real-life stories — revealed connected Mail Sport’s podcast It’s All Kicking Off — that show a refereeing organization successful fearfulness and successful crisis.

The Northumberland Football League opportunity behaviour towards grassroots officials is ‘the worst we’ve seen successful our history’, and are threatening to prohibition parents and cancel fixtures. 

The emergence successful maltreatment towards referees astatine each levels follows a surge successful shameful antics by top-flight managers and players — from Mikel Arteta to Mauricio Pochettino, Jurgen Klopp to Marco Silva.

Today, nan Daily Mail launches a ‘Stop Abusing Referees’ campaign, supporting officials and spotlighting bad behaviour astatine each levels. A staggering 10,000 referees person near nan crippled successful nan past 5 years.

Across Mail Sport — connected MailOnline, successful nan Daily Mail and Mail connected Sunday, and connected our It’s All Kicking Off podcast, we will telephone retired nan miscreants. The maltreatment has to extremity now.