How to prevent the ugly scenes of mass dissent that have scarred several high-profile Barclays Premier League games this season? Avram Grant, the Chelsea first-team coach, wants the league to adopt a rule that allows only the captain to approach the referee.

“If there is a big, clear rule, it will be good for everybody. I agree that if the captain is only allowed to talk to the referee it would be good,” Grant said.

Such a scheme exists in rugby union. Grant, however, was reticent when it was suggested that his club could pioneer the concept whether it is law in football or not, saying: “I won’t tell my players, ‘You do this,’ and then they come and say, ‘The other team isn’t doing it, why are we?’ ”

John Terry is not shy about approaching officials, but some of the Chelsea captain’s team-mates would have to alter their behaviour. Chelsea have been fined four times in the past two years for mass confrontations with referees, one of them at Old Trafford this season, and Mike Riley was pursued angrily by Terry, Ashley Cole and others during the 4-4 draw away to Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday.

Manchester United could be said to hold the patent for that type of behaviour, dating back to the manner in which Roy Keane and several team-mates chased Andy D’Urso across the pitch for awarding Middlesbrough a penalty at Old Trafford in January 2000, but Sir Alex Ferguson believes that, while his team have got their house in order, others cannot be so proud of their conduct.

Asked at his pre-match press conference yesterday about Chelsea’s actions at White Hart Lane, the United manager said: “We had a pivotal moment some years ago when our players surrounded Andy D’Urso. I went off my head with them about that. I thought it was ridiculous and it never happened again. We tell our players to shake hands with the referee at the end of the game. Sometimes it’s difficult, but they have to do it, in the same way that if you lose a game, we will make sure we invite the opposing manager for a drink afterwards.

“We do these things because it’s important, because life goes on. The other night I saw one of our players swapping shirts with a Bolton player who had fouled him about ten times. We were talking the other week about respect for referees at grassroots level, which I think is absolutely correct. The haranguing of referees is absolutely ridiculous. It’s not right. We see it as an issue and since that issue with Andy D’Urso, we’ve not done anything like it.”

Not that United can claim to be squeaky clean, but, with only 38 yellow cards and a single red in the Premier League this season, the only team with a better disciplinary record are Liverpool, their opponents tomorrow, who have had 37 players booked and not one sent off. Arsenal, too, can claim to have tidied up their act in recent years, but Chelsea have collected 53 yellow cards and six red — along with Fulham, the most sendings-off in the division.

Ashley Cole received only a booking for his foul on Alan Hutton and subsequent ill-tempered behaviour on Wednesday, but Grant believes that by apologising the next day, the defender has displayed maturity. “He’s a top professional and he has shown now that he also knows how to behave,” he said.

While tomorrow’s “Grand Slam Sunday” is eagerly awaited, Grant, as a former national coach, with Israel, Grant believes that a “fantastic Friday” would have better served England’s interests before the friendly with France on Wednesday. “Maybe before an international game, we could play Saturday,” he said. “But I’d go further and play Friday if possible, and then have five days for the national team, which is important.”