FA Respect Programme is making great progress:

• There has been a 9% increase in the number of qualified referees this season and there are 5,197 trainee referees at Level Nine – ¹ a 45% increase on 2008/09
• Dissent cautions are down in 12 out of 16 of the senior professional leagues and divisions. In the Premier League alone dissent cautions are down by 37% whilst in the Championship the numbers are down by 53%, with League One showing an 8% decrease and League Two dropping by 10%
• Respect has become a compulsory module in The FA's training courses for all new referees and coaches (over 25,000) coming into the game each season
• Referee assaults down 25% on previous season

But there is still work to be done:

• 800 grassroots games abandoned in 2008/09 season due to player or spectator misconduct ²
• 1 in 4 parents would not consider confronting an offensive spectator for fear of physical retaliation ³