Rugby World Cup
World Cup rugby official Nigel Owens would 'love' to tackle 'unacceptable behaviour' of football man
ESPN Staff
September 15, 2015
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Rugby referee Nigel Owens has called on football to follow his sport's lead and force coaches to show respect to officials. 

The Welshman, 44, who is set to officiate in his third Rugby World Cup, has admitted that he would "love" to take charge of a game in the Premier League in order to hold to task managers such as Chelsea's Jose Mourinho. 

Owens is a member of the World International Referee's Panel and part of a 12-strong unit of officials for the upcoming tournament, which gets underway on Friday when England face Fiji at Twickenham.

"I'd love to give refereeing football a go. I'm afraid they'd be down to five-a-side before half-time. It's unacceptable behaviour," Owens told the Radio Times.

"If you had coaches in rugby having a go at referees like Jose Mourinho and some others do, they'd be dealt with more firmly."

Chelsea boss Mourinho was fined £25,000 by the Football Association in January for claiming that there was a "campaign" to influence decisions against his team.

In 2013-14 he was sent to the stands twice for complaining about decisions, including persistently questioning referee Anthony Taylor following Ramires' dismissal against Aston Villa in March 2014.

ESPN is proud to announce an exclusive 1-hour special - Cheika's Wallabies: Hope of a Nation - with a repeat broadcast on ESPN Thu Sept 17 at 9pm AEST (9pm NZ). ESPNscrum's leading rugby expert Greg Growden goes one-on-one with the Wallabies coach in this exclusive special that gives a rare insight into the intriguing personality of Australia's head coach.

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