UPDATE 1-Soccer-Euro 2008 refs to tackle dissent, violent play

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By Mark Ledsom

REGENSDORF, Switzerland, April 17 (Reuters) - Referees at Euro 2008 will come down hard on players who use excessive force or show dissent if they follow instructions they were given on Thursday.

The 12 referees who will officiate at the June tournament in Austria and Switzerland were handed a six-point list of instructions at the end of a four-day workshop at their Euro 2008 base near Zurich.

The instructions, compiled by European soccer's governing body UEFA, order referees to "act firmly (red card) against challenges involving excessive force...including the illegal use of arms and elbows."

UEFA said that players would also be expected to respect officials' decisions.

"Referees can accept a spontaneous expression of frustration from players," the instructions state, "but will firmly sanction players who show dissent to the referees by word or action."

The referees have also been instructed to control holding or pushing in the penalty area prior to corners and free kicks and to punish "simulation intended to deceive the referee" with yellow cards.

As is already the case in the Champions League, UEFA's disciplinary body will be able to use video evidence to punish players who fool the referee by diving or pretending to have been fouled.