An increase in red cards and abandoned matches in amateur football reflects the  social problems of “a lack of respect for authority and shorter fuses”, Dutch football association KNVB has said.

According to KNVB figures, some 12,226 red cards were issued in amateur games last season, up 673 compared to the previous year.  The number of matches abandoned because of serious verbal or physical altercations increased by 186 to 1,864.

Disciplinary cases went up 10% from 3,501 last year, the KNVB said. The number of cases is still small when taking the total of 780,000 matches played into account, the association said, but the rise reverses a downward trend.

According to the KNVB, the problems on the pitch reflect those in society. Players have trouble accepting authority and have short fuses, it said. It also said discrimination, insults and other hurtful comments often precede the incidents.

Clubs where trouble is known to be an issue will come under closer scrutiny and will be monitored by the KNVB to prevent problems. If that doesn’t help, the association said the club will be excluded from the KNVB and no longer be allowed to compete.