Respect Limited to Soho Square Talking Shop

Melees involving Chelsea staff and Manchester United players at Stamford Bridge came less than 24 hours after a top-level meeting at the Football Association's headquarters discussed how to improve the image of the professional game.

The FA hosted the summit at Soho Square last Friday as it attempts to foster a greater degree of discipline and respect in the game. The status of the group was reflected by the seniority of those present, the chief executives of the Premier League and League Managers' Association, Richard Scudamore and Richard Bevan, the Football League's operations director, Andy Williamson, the Professional Footballers' Association's deputy chief executive, Mick McGuire, and the head of elite referees, Keith Hackett, all attended.

The delegates received an update on the findings of a pilot scheme that has been taking place in 20 grassroots leagues over the past 10 weeks in an attempt to show that the top leagues can take a lead in improving standards in the game at large. Although no formal declaration was reached, conversation centered on two main topics: whether a workable plan could be achieved under which only captains are permitted to speak to referees and how to reduce the pressure on fourth officials.

The discussions make particularly unfortunate timing of the allegedly aggressive conduct of United's captain, Rio Ferdinand, who accidentally kicked a woman steward after an on-the-pitch tirade, and of Owen Hargreaves, who allegedly abused the fourth official Mike Riley after Saturday's match.

Chairman on board

The FA's chairman, Lord Triesman, will have an opportunity to press the case of his Respect agenda with specific clubs this week at a meeting with a select group of chairmen. Aston Villa's Randy Lerner, Chelsea's Bruce Buck, Spurs' Daniel Levy and Arsenal's Peter Hill-Wood have all been invited to dinner as Triesman better acquaints himself with leading figures in the game. Although Hill-Wood has sent his apologies due to a prior engagement, there is genuine warmth among the clubs towards Triesman's request as it is believed to be the first time in decades that an FA chairman has engaged so intimately with his club counterparts.

Not up for the cup

Port Elizabeth has another seven days to prove itself as a suitable Confederations Cup venue after a meeting of the World Cup 2010 organizing committee's board of directors delayed its decision. The board meeting had been scheduled for today but was pushed back "due to the unavailability of some of its members". The venue is the only new stadium included for the Confederations Cup but a source in the organizing committee conceded the possibility that it might not be ready. Only four venues are required to host the World Cup's warm-up tournament.

Quinn gets shirty

Sunderland's chairman, Niall Quinn, clearly had a specific retail chain in mind when he cautioned his club's fans not to purchase shirts at discount prices. "I'm sure that most fans are aware that the club doesn't earn from Sunderland kit sold in other stores," said Quinn. "But what they may not be aware of is that by buying from other retail outlets they could actually be investing in the success of rival clubs." Michael Oliver, the company secretary of Sports Direct International, whose executive deputy chairman is Newcastle United's owner, Mike Ashley, declined to comment.

Host with the most

Match of the Day Two's host, Adrian Chiles, managed to turn the agenda on his daytime One Show last week to one of his favorite subjects with an item about football. But rather than focus on his beloved Baggies, the topic was footballers' earnings. "Rio Ferdinand is now on something like £120,000 a week. How do you go about spending that kind of money? Our reporter goes to find out if today's players really do have more money than sense." After reportedly signing £2m, two-year deal with the BBC, Chiles should have a rough idea how to spend it like Beckham. To put that £2m into context: it is considerably more than the average Premier League player's annual wage of £676,000.