Prince William Urges Soccer Stars To Respect Referees

Britain's Prince William has urged soccer stars to respect match officials. The royal - who is president of the English Football Association - wants the highly-paid athletes to stop verbally abusing referees and be better role models for their fans.

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William is keen for all players to support the football association's Respect program, which was launched after Chelsea star Ashley Cole and Liverpool player Javier Mascherano were involved in separate incidents of dissent towards referees.

Speaking about legendary English soccer star, Sir Bobby Robson - who died in July, aged 76 - William said: "Sir Bobby understood that to be successful in football, as in any other sport, requires tempered aggression and the competitive edge."

"But what he also knew was that these can be taken too far. We saw this last season, in shameful scenes of players confronting referees, verbally abusing them and physically intimidating them."

William, who was celebrating Wednesday night as England qualified for next year's World Cup in South Africa, believes the sport can have a positive impact on young people.

He added: "Football is central to the fabric of this nation. The way our footballing heroes behave - on and off the pitch - has an extraordinary influence over the wider national life, particularly amongst children and young people."