As recently as last Sunday, an under-15s player was removed from the pitch for shouting homophobic comments at a match official. In another incident, an adult player was banned for 182 days after he grabbed a referee by the shirt.
And earlier this season, three teenage officials locked themselves in a changing room having endured prolonged verbal abuse by junior players.
‘Obviously it’s a very serious matter,’ said Mr Le Saux. ‘Ultimately, no matter what is going on in terms of a match and the decisions made by referees, there has to be a line that should never be crossed.
‘It’s inexcusable to abuse referees, physically or verbally to the level [that has been happening].’
The former Muratti star, who joined Chelsea FC in 1987 from Jersey side St Paul’s, lives in England, with his wife and their two children. He has previously spoken out about how he was tormented by supporters of opposing clubs – and some players – for 15 years after they wrongly assumed he was gay.
‘The sort of things that have been going on [the abuse that referees have been receiving in Jersey] are entirely unacceptable,’ said Mr Le Saux, who sits on the FA’s Inclusion Advisory Board and helps to promote respect between officials and players.
On Wednesday this week, Jersey referees announced strike action in response to repeated abuse. Yesterday, the Jersey Football Referees’ Association said the strike action would be rescinded. However, some referees were still intending not to officiate this weekend.
‘If referees are fearing for their safety it won’t be long before referees either say, “We’re not going to referee at all”, or younger referees who have a love of the game will be put off refereeing because they will be put off by the environment,’ Mr Le Saux added.
The 50-year-old, who won the Premiership title with Blackburn Rovers in 1995, said that players ‘had to be prepared to accept the punishment for doing something wrong’, and added: ‘The JFA have to support referees and send out very clear messages to players about where the line is.
‘From the players’ point of view, players of all ages have got to look at themselves and say, would we rather referee our own matches or would we prefer not to play in particular competitions.
‘Players who respect the game have to be strong enough to get their team-mates into line. All players have got to uphold the values of their sport.
‘Sport is a great opportunity for people to let go of the emotional stresses of everyday daily life – whether that’s at home, work or school. It’s an important part of anybody’s mental health, but at the same time, that doesn’t give players the right to vent their frustration and anger onto other people.’
Earlier this week Uefa, football’s European governing body, charged Montenegro with racist behaviour after some of the team’s fans verbally abused England players in the Euro 2020 qualifier in Podgorica.
‘In terms of tackling discrimination, you can never say you’ve completed the job because there are always going to be times when societies regress,’ added Mr Le Saux, who was capped 36 times by England before retiring from professional football in 2005.
‘What we saw in Montenegro wasn’t one person here and there, it was a widespread problem on the night. This has shone a light on a country that hasn’t dealt with discrimination as well as Britain has done over a period of time. But it’s disgusting and uncalled for.’
Mr Le Saux recently closed his Twitter account, despite having had a following of more than 60,000. There have been several cases in recent times of high-profile people leaving Twitter due to abusive messages directed at them.
However, Mr Le Saux said that was not the reason for his own exit from the social media platform.
‘I haven’t left Twitter for any specific reason, I’m just having a little break from it and seeing how that goes,’ he added.
