A YOUTH football team is standing firmly against abuse following a number of incidents this season.

Warrington Town Wires U14s FC is maintaining its anti-abuse position after a recent bust-up saw one player 'beaten up,' and a referee receive a torrent of abuse.

Speaking to the Warrington Guardian, the club's coach has talked about standing against abuse in all its forms, and why it's important that young players do not tolerate it.

In the past few weeks, an incident took place during one of the club's home matches, which saw an opposing team take issue with a refereeing decision; due to the abuse the referee received, the match was subsequently called off.

Another match saw one of the players punched 'repeatedly in the face,' too.

Club coach Peter Ng spoke to the Warrington Guardian about why his team is now taking a stand.

Speaking about the impact of abuse in football, the coach said: "We lost the player who got hurt.  He simply lost his confidence and felt ashamed that he didn't fight back.

"For the rest of the team, mentally and emotionally you could see our players were affected, they had just lost one of their friends from the team. 

"At the time he was very influential on the team.

"They didn't have the same enthusiasm. 

"Training numbers started to dwindle and on match days there were signs of anxiety as they questioned why the previous incident had happened, if they had done something wrong and if would it happen again.

"The boys didn't want to challenge for the ball and weren't anywhere near as physical for fear of repercussions."

Peter, 44, says he has always coached the players to be respectful; he added: "We cannot control how other people behave, what they say etc., but we can control what we do.

"These boys know the difference between right and wrong and therefore it is important that they stay on the right side and demonstrate behaviours accordingly.

"Behaviorally, I have always tried to build respect.  We don't tolerate name-calling, or putting others down. 

"We educate them on looking out for each other and looking after each other.  Think about how you would feel if one of your teammates injured you and you couldn't play on Saturday. 

"We have zero tolerance towards referee abuse, as per our referee campaign. 

"Yes, they are allowed to be frustrated, yes ask why, but it is not okay to back chat or verbally abuse the referee or another player. 

"If I was to see this, then it would be a case that they would be substituted immediately, even if we were down to 10 men or less."

Last year the club launched a campaign against abuse in football, and believes that the latest incidents highlight the need for such action.

Unfortunately, Peter explained, some clubs' coaches feel that they are 'above the law' and are beyond reproach.

According to Peter, last year's campaign was received positively: "It was received very favourably by the teams we played against and of course by the referees themselves. 

"Parents and coaches of opposition teams supported us and our games went without a hitch."