The Professional Footballers' Association has urged clubs to clamp down on crowd abuse.
Sol Campbell, the Portsmouth defender, and Glenn Roeder, manager of Norwich City, both insisted yesterday that the problem is out of control, while Gordon Taylor, the PFA chief executive, believes clubs should be doing more to target games with potential flashpoints.
"Clubs need to be very mindful when they are counselling stewards before the game that there may be likely targets in the opposition team," Taylor insisted last night.
"Sometimes there is booing during a game, but it usually fades and then the players get on with it. When it continues and it is abuse of a personal nature, that is when players deserve better protection. This is when it becomes a matter for the Football Association, the club concerned, the police and stewards."
Campbell is often targeted by Tottenham supporters still bearing a grudge about his departure from the club for rivals Arsenal several years ago. His Portsmouth manager, Harry Redknapp, criticised Aston Villa supporters after they abused him at a recent game between the sides, while Roeder was targeted by fans of Colchester last weekend. Roeder described the perpetrators as "low lives".
"If this happened on the street, you would be arrested," said Campbell. "This is the 21st century, and this is a human rights situation where sportsmen and managers are trying to do their job professionally and people are abusing them verbally. It has gone too far."
Campbell believes the FA can do more to tackle the problem. "They have let us down because they have allowed this to continue, sat idle, head in the sand, and tried to brush it under the carpet," he added.
The FA insist that they are treating the problem seriously. "There is legislation in place to deal with abusive, threatening and racist behaviour by ejecting and arresting offending individuals. Put simply, it is against the law," a spokesman said.
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