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England lay down new code of conduct

ESPN staff
October 10, 2012

The Football Association hopes that episodes such as Ashley Cole's Twitter outburst will soon be a thing of the past after warning England players that they risk suspension from the national team under a new code of conduct.

The new guidelines, outlined to the England squad at St George's Park on Monday, were first proposed in January and are expected to be in place in time for next month's friendly with Sweden in Gothenburg.

And while officials have stressed that there is no punishment scale set in place, the new code does include provisions to omit or eject England players from the squad for serious offences.

"If someone transgresses in a way that brings the integrity of the team or themselves or the organisation into question, we have the ability to warn them, or if we deem it appropriate, under significant circumstances, to suspend them from England," said Adrian Bevington, Club England managing director.

The release of the code coincides with a difficult chapter in the history of the national team, with the fallout from John Terry's altercation with Anton Ferdinand resulting in the former captain's international retirement in response to an FA investigation that handed him a four-match ban.

Terry was acquitted of racially abusing Ferdinand in court but the FA's independent panel deemed the slur worthy of a ban and fine, while their withering assessment of Cole's evidence during the trial prompted the Chelsea defender to label the FA a 'bunch of t***s' on Twitter.

But FA chairman David Bernstein was quick to stress that the subsequent arrival of a disciplinary code was completely unrelated, with all parties believing the move was long overdue.

"I came into this position as chairman with five things I'd identified, one of which was respect, in its wider sense," Bernstein said. "Not just towards referees but player-to-player, the whole respect agenda.

"I'm beginning to think it's the most important thing I've got to deal with as chairman of the FA."

Cole sought out Bernstein on Monday to personally apologise for the incident in the wake of calls for the left-back to be dropped while closing in on his 100th England cap, something that Bernstein hopes will serve as a reminder of the privilege of representing your country.

"These guys share a desire to play for England. They really do value it," Bernstein said. "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."

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