What do I do if a parent or coach abuses me?

Coaches and other team officials: under the Laws of the Game you can caution (yellow card) or send off (red card) a team official for irresponsible behaviour. If you can't identify who did it, the senior coach in the technical area gets the sanction. A sent-off official must leave the field of play and its surroundings.

Parents and spectators: cards are only for players, substitutes and team officials, but:

• you can stop, suspend or abandon the match because of outside interference by spectators
• under FA Rules E20 and E21, each club is responsible for making sure its officials, players and spectators (home and away) don't behave in an improper, offensive, threatening, abusive or insulting way, and can be charged if they do
• the County FA investigates incidents you report.

Reporting: report any sent-off team official and any extraordinary incident (including abuse from spectators or an abandonment) to the County FA within two days of the match (Sundays excluded).

The FA's Respect code states that any physical assault on a match official will result in a lengthy or permanent exclusion from football and possibly a criminal prosecution.