FA chief executive, Ian Watmore, has demanded a crackdown on abusive behaviour by fans in the light of recent flare-ups between players and fans, reports The Guardian. Emmanuel Adebayor, the Manchester City forward, was fined for his behaviour during the 4-2 win over Arsenal at Eastlands last month in which he ran the length of the field after scoring to celebrate in front of his former club's supporters.
The FA condemned Adebayor's conduct but also mentioned the "extremely provocative nature of the abuse he received".
Watmore reinforced those sentiments when he told The Times: "There are areas of chanting that go beyond what's technically illegal, like racist or homophobic chanting, into what I think of as vile chanting.
"We in football should think about ways in which we can exorcise that from the game, but without glorifying it, because it puts the average person off. They don't like it when it's their own crowd doing it and, to the players, it can be declared as a hostile and abusive act as much as being racist or homophobic."