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Chasing Pokémon mid-match now a red card offence, confirms FA

Landmark rulings will crack down on players and fans chasing monsters across pitch.

Playing Pokémon GO will be a red card offence
GO: Pokémon (Image: Eduardo Woo)

Players caught chasing Pokémon during Premier League and Football League matches will be sent off, the FA has announced.

The ruling, historic, will apply to all 92 teams from English football’s top four divisions without exception – even Manchester United.

Pokémon GO fever has swept the planet since being introduced by Theresa May as a mass surveillance device earlier this summer.

And professional footballers haven’t been immune from the craze, banging on about it on Twitter and the like.

The game involves ‘finding’ Pokémon using GPS technology, with its developers insisting that one must “catch ’em all”/

They can be found anywhere, even on the pitches of Premier League grounds, so stewards have been instructed to keep a vigilant eye out for roaming fans.

Anyone caught clattering into an opposition striker under the pretext of chasing Pokémon is likely to incur a points deduction for his club.

But security staff can do little to stop the players themselves seeking out fresh monsters.

As such, the FA had no choice but to make the act of Pokémon-chasing a red card offence.

However, it is not yet clear what will happen if referees themselves start doing it.

For further developments on this landmark ruling, keep checking back to Football Burp every five minutes.