ENGLAND manager Glenn Hoddle got on his high horse yesterday and delivered a triple warning to his players, the fans and referees. Cautious Hoddle, normally so positive, has urged his squad some of whom were claiming �we're better than Brazil' to keep their feet on the ground and not get carried away with their opening game success in the countdown to facing Romania on Monday. He also appealed to the country's supporters to be on their best behaviour following the shameful scenes on the streets of Marseille before, during and after their 2-0 romp past Tunisia.

Hoddle, though, saved his sternest warning for FIFA and the World Cup referees who after a calm start appear to have lost the plot totally with the red-card frenzy now threatening to ruin the entire tournament. Like most of us, the England coach watched on aghast as the leniency previously shown here in France ended on Thursday with five red cards and 11 yellow in two Group C games. FIFA's soon-to-be President Sepp Blatter had publicly declared his support for the Colombian and Brazilian referees involved in those games between Denmark and South Africa and France versus Saudi Arabia, and appears to have set that the tone for the rest of the tournament.

But Hoddle urged a return to the "common sense" displayed by officials in the first week. I thought in the first games that the balance was right," said the concerned coach. "There might've been a couple of isolated incidents where there could've been red cards but all in all it wasn't too bad. We said coming into the tournament that the first five days before we played would give us a chance to look at what was going to happen and how they were going to interpret the laws. Now we've got to cast our minds to that, because it's almost as if we're starting all over again."

Hoddle then added: "Obviously it's a worry. Suddenly there's been a drastic swing around. As long as it's the tackle from behind that's punished, that's fine. We all want that eradicated from the game. But it's got to be sensible and have a balance about it.