Turkish football referees say English insults will bring red cards

Turkey’s Central Referees Committee has changed its instructions on how referees punish certain language.

It said the English phrase “f...

off” will be treated as a serious insult, like “f...

you.”

Players who use either phrase will receive a red card, according to the committee.

The change was explained in a video reviewing selected incidents from Turkey’s top two football leagues.

The committee used a moment from an Amedspor-Beşiktaş match to illustrate the rule.

The decision makes clear that the punishment applies to these English phrases, not only to insults in Turkish.

The committee has not said when the instruction takes effect.