SIMON JORDAN: You can't blame football's mafia of managers and players for every headbutt on a Sunday morning

There is no doubt that what goes on at the top of the professional game filters down to grassroots levels.

But I’m not sure I see the link between Premier League managers behaving poorly on the touchline and some of the shocking incidents that occur in amateur football.

I listened to Chris Sutton and Ian Ladyman’s latest It’s All Kicking Off podcast and the harrowing accounts of referees being physically attacked and threatened. Jim White and I have heard similar stories on our talkSport show and it’s clearly a serious problem that needs addressing. The question is: how?

Referees in the amateur game are carrying out a public service in our national sport and there undoubtedly should be more value attached to the job they do.

We have a long-standing culture in this country of belittling referees and making them public enemy No 1 when we feel wronged by their decisions.

That leads to an unhealthy cocktail and you end up with a serious lack of appreciation for people who are integral to our national game. The overall conduct of football people — managers and players — needs to improve, no question. They need to be more respectful of authority and acknowledge that authority. That means managers behaving better and facing greater accountability for their behaviour.

Whether we like it or not, people will imitate how managers behave in the same way young players who watch footballers spit, swear and get covered in tattoos will follow their lead.

Of course managers should behave themselves, not just because grassroots imitates what happens at the top, but because it sets the standard and code for how players behave in the professional game.

If managers aren’t disrespectful and aren’t shouting and screaming at referees, behaving in the