FLARES went out of fashion ages ago, and I think they should stay that way.

It looks like the Italian Football Federation are going to get a hefty wrap on the knuckles from the authorities after referee Bjorn Kuipers had to take players off the field in a European qualifier against Croatia this week.

Disturbances off the pitch, and smoke from flares, meant the official had no choice but to stop the game and as the home nation I think Italy are going to come in for some flack.

When you look at the pictures it was harking back to the bad old days, the kind of stuff English football has worked so hard to stop.

I haven’t seen much trouble in Italy down the years but sadly you do see a lot of those scenes in Eastern Europe. And judging by what we saw, it was the Croatian fans who were causing most of the problems on Sunday night.

Flares are a minor problem over here and I know it comes down to resources – as in, can the police really check everyone coming into a stadium? But these things are really dangerous in the wrong hands and do we need to wait for someone to be seriously injured or worse before the authorities crack down?

Every time the qualifiers come around we seem to see a different problem emerge. Only a couple of weeks ago we saw problems in the game between Serbia and Albania, a flying drone on the pitch, players fighting everywhere.

Don’t forget that was the same country England’s Under-21s were subjected to such disgraceful racist abuse.

It is horrible to see but it does make me thankful that the English game has changed so much for the better and women and children can go to matches in relative safety nowadays. Of course there is always more work to do but I think we should give ourselves a bit of a pat on the back for the efforts which have been made.

In all my time refereeing I only had to stop a game once for fan-related problems and that was back in 1998 during a match between Portsmouth and Sheffield United. Someone ran on to the pitch and hit my assistant, Edward Martin, and ended up getting six months in prison for it.

I worry more for the England fans who go on to the continent to support their country or their club because some areas of Europe are way, way behind on the safety front.

On the travel front, I’m on my way to Qatar this weekend to help Richard Keys and Andy Gray with their show. I’m sure there will be plenty to talk about on their upcoming World Cup preparations next week.

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Why so long for free kick spray to appear in FL?

SOME ideas are so simple, yet so effective; you wonder why we didn’t dream them up years ago?

That’s the case with the spray now used by referees to stop the problem of encroachment at free-kicks.

I’m glad to hear that from January the Football League have finally woken up to the fact that a simple can of spray can prevent a whole host of headaches for referees, but I have to ask: Why did it take them so long?

No-one was willing to put their neck on the line and use it a few years ago, even though MLS had shown it worked. It wasn’t until Spain, France and Germany got on board that the Premier League finally relented and agreed to use it at the start of the season. A few months later and we’re all looking at it and wondering what all the fuss was.

The minute the Premier League were on board the Football League should have thought: ‘If it’s good enough for them, it should be good enough for us.’ But, no, they decided to test it in the Johnstone’s Paints Trophy for some unknown reason.

Talk about a Doubting Thomas.

I watched a JPT game between Bury and Tranmere last week and the referee didn’t need to use the can once. But for me it should be an essential bit of kit, just like a whistle and your cards.

People might say that the problem of encroachment wasn’t a bad one but, believe me, there wasn’t a free kick anywhere around the penalty box where players wouldn’t try and edge up just a little bit closer to the ball.

Referees didn’t want to start giving cautions to players for something that trivial. That kind of thing spoils the game.

It’s a classic example of how a bit of modern technology – a spray that disappears in seconds – can solve an age-old problem.

But you do have to get your timing right.

I saw Phil Dowd referee the Swansea v Arsenal game a few weeks ago and he sprayed the line for the players’ wall so early it was gone by the time they got there. Steady on.

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Refs body should not tech or leave video help

A FEW weeks ago I revealed details of a secret trip made by Mike Riley and Howard Webb to Holland where they looked into trials of video technology.

The pair looked at the pros and cons first hand with a view to coming back and reporting to the PGMOL on whether we could use it in the Premier League and Football League – but we’re still waiting for any indication of their views.

Why the radio silence? I keep reading about how Richard Scudamore is demanding complete transparency in all this business with FIFA and yet closer to home we’re none the wiser about how close we are to using video technology in our game.

You know my views; anything that assists the decision making process for a referee is okay by me. Some people favour the idea of giving managers a set number of appeals but I just think that would serve to slow down the game. And besides, if say you had two appeals and used them, what would happen if you then had a controversial penalty given against you?

I saw this week Austria had a perfectly good goal disallowed because the extra official did not spot the ball had crossed the line. There was also another example of a ghost goal in Germany where the ball actually came off the bar but a goal was awarded.

It’s ludicrous that there is not a system in place to help referees in this sort of situation. The modern game demands it, in my opinion.

I can see a lot of changes happening in our game quite soon as people realise technology is something you should embrace rather than shy away from. And the sooner we know what the PGMOL think on the subject, the better.