Pierluigi Collina is a former referee who is now chief refereeing officer at UEFAUEFA have encouraged referees to provide greater protection to players ahead of the beginning of the Champions League knockout stages this week. Giving better protection to players is a theme that has been taken up by several managers this season. Now UEFA's chief refereeing officer Pierluigi Collina has added his opinion, saying: "We need to have players playing, so they must be protected on the field. "Players must understand they have to respect their opponents and show the same positive behaviour to them they would want to receive themselves." UEFA have also asked their officials to punish players who deny obvious goal-scoring opportunities, as well as criticising players who surround referees.

Source: Sky sports February 12, 2018 19:07 UTC