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‘I’ve heard a father threaten a referee’

Peter Schmeichel has told 5 Live’s Nihal Arthanayake that one of his stepsons has stopped playing football partly “because of parents’ behaviour on the touchline”.

The former Manchester United and Denmark goalkeeper said parents shouting from the touchlines were putting young players under too much pressure.

“It’s just unfair to put that on the kids,” he said,

“I’ve heard a father from the other team threaten the referee with violence in a game of 10-year-olds.

“It encourages a pattern of behavior...those kids think this is how the grown ups behave, so this is how we can behave as well.”

This clip is originally from 5 Live’s Afternoon Edition on 5th October 2021.

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Duration:

2 minutes

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