Referee's boss Howard Webb has insisted “real steps” are being put in place to improve managers’ behaviour.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, Brighton’s Roberto De Zerbi and Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp are among those who have come under fire this season for their touchline antics. But Webb, the PGMOL chief refereeing officer, says talks are ongoing between officials, managers and players over how standards can be raised for next season.
Webb told the BBC: “For quite some time now, there’s people from across the game coming together looking at ways of participant behaviour, trying to agree some real steps we think can make a real difference.
“They will be implemented in the close season and we’ll be talking to the managers, the players, the media, everybody involved really to lay out what they look like.
“I get a sense that there’s a stronger desire now to make this happen. We don’t want the behaviours we’ve seen to continue.”
Webb has done a round of media interviews as the PGMOL has broadcast VAR recordings to give fans a better understanding of the decision making process.
The ex-Premier League referee also said that they are pushing for more transparency and even a plan to one day broadcast the VAR audio live as part of match coverage.
Webb also featured on Sky Sports in the Monday Night Football and explained that there will be more transparency on why decisions have been made. He said: "We made a commitment to be more transparent and we know and recognise that people want more information about refereeing processes - particularly with the advent of VAR.
"We want to draw the curtain back, we're prepared to do that and show the viewers and spectators what goes into making the decisions on the field and how VAR works as well."
One of the examples that was used in Webb's explainer before Leicester's defeat against Liverpool was Kai Havertz's disallowed goal during Chelsea's goalless draw with Liverpool in April. The goal was chalked off following a VAR review because the ball hit the German's arm before going in.
In the clip, the VAR official and their assistant say the word "factual" several times after the ball hits Havertz's arm. As Webb explained: "In that situation the referee doesn’t need to go to the screen - we call it a factual review - because it’s based around something pretty factual. Did the ball hit the arm or not?
"There’s no need to make any interpretation on that other than the fact it hit the arm, and it did. Rather than waste time sending the referee to the screen, we just make the call there and then, being as efficient as we can be and making sure we don’t waste any time."
