Almost 4,000 misconduct offences have been committed by adults at youth level football, according to the Football Association.

The figures were collated from matches in England involving under-18s teams during a 15-month period.

The FA will now offer new “awareness” courses to club officials who have been found guilty of a misconduct charge.

“We consider it to be a huge priority,” said Dermot Collins, the FA’s respect manager.

The FA provided figures from all 50 county associations across England.

The reports mainly came from match officials who had witnessed improper behaviour, such as offensive remarks directed at referees and physical fights between parents or between opposing club managers.

They relate to incidents recorded last season (2012-13) and so far this season (up to November 2013).

In total, there were 3,731 cases of misconduct involving adults at under-18 matches.

Of those, 1,057 involved incidents where clubs were charged with failing to control spectators or players – with the vast majority related to trouble caused by spectators.

From January 2014, the FA is introducing a pilot scheme across 10 county associations offering new educational courses – the equivalent to the disciplinary speeding course that drivers are sent on.

The courses are not a replacement for fines or suspensions but are intended to get people to think about the impact of their behaviour.

They will predominantly be aimed at managers, coaches and in some cases spectators who have been found guilty of non-violent misconduct charges – such as abusing referees or threatening behaviour.

The 10 county football associations are Essex, Manchester, Bedfordshire, Lancashire, Surrey, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Leicestershire, Liverpool, and Nottinghamshire.

Source: BBC News