Soccer-Roundup-Union chief calls for referee exclusion zone

LONDON, March 24 (Reuters) - Soccer news in brief from around the world: * English players' union (PFA) chief executive Gordon Taylor has called for the introduction of an exclusion zone around referees following recent incidents of player dissent.

"I have made it clear referees should be a no-go area," Taylor told BBC radio after Liverpool's Javier Mascherano was sent off on Sunday for harrowing referee Steve Bennett over his decisions.

"It is time managers and players did accept a responsibility ...It is the bad points that get highlighted and the game has to be very much aware and do all it can to eradicate it."

* Inter Milan midfielder Esteban Cambiasso has pulled out of Argentina's friendly against African champions Egypt in Cairo on Wednesday because of a leg injury, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) said.

Cambiasso, who missed Inter's Serie A defeat by Juventus on Saturday, is nursing a muscle injury in his left leg, the AFA said on its Web site (www.afa.org.ar).

* Mali striker Frederic Kanoute will miss out on his team's friendly against a France B side in Paris on Tuesday after opting to remain with his club Sevilla to receive treatment for calf and heel pain, the Primera Liga side said on their Web site (www.sevillafc.es).