FA act following Blatter's rebuke
LONDON, England (Reuters) -- England's Football Association have appointed Brendon Batson, a former defender and top players' union official, to help speed up their under-fire disciplinary process.
The move comes a day after FIFA president Sepp Blatter criticised the FA for taking too long with the Rio Ferdinand doping case and for failing to implement rules on immediate suspensions for sending off offences.
Officials appeared to respond to Blatter's charge by saying a review which began at the start of the season will be headed by Batson, a former West Bromwich Albion player and deputy chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association.
The FA said it "intends to introduce rule changes for next season in order to speed up the disciplinary process, make it more transparent and better understood throughout the game, while still maintaining the rights of individuals."
Batson will be involved in "a series of regular meetings over the course of the season, involving leagues, players, managers, referees, administrators and supporters at various levels of the game."
However, the FA's plans for next season may not come soon enough for Blatter, who wanted automatic red-card bans to be introduced this season after they were agreed at a FIFA extraordinary congress in October.
Manchester United and England defender Ferdinand has been charged by the FA with misconduct after his failure to take a scheduled drugs test at his club's training ground on September 23.
He has until Wednesday to respond to the charge, with his case unlikely to be heard before December.
