Clive Wilkes has given a cautious thumbs up to the Premier League’s attempts to crackdown on players diving.

A three-man panel, which will consist of ex-players, managers and match officials, has been set up by football’s powers-that-be this season to review any incidents that may occur.

Wilkes, the one-time Premier League referee who lives in Corse, said: “It’s very early in the season, of course, but the early signs are encouraging.

“I’ve seen a couple of games and there doesn’t seem to be so much diving about, so maybe the panel is acting as a deterrent.

“Maybe it’s because the new panel is fresh in everybody’s mind. We’ll have to see what happens later in the season when games become ‘win at all cost’. Things may change then.”

As a former official, Wilkes knows more than most how difficult it is to judge whether a player has dived or not.

“I was at a game at Aston Villa when they played Southampton two or three seasons ago,” he said. “Mark Halsey, who is a good friend of mine, was the referee and he gave Southampton a penalty.

“I was sat above the halfway line and had a perfect view of the incident and I’d have bet my house on it that it was a stonewall penalty. But when I saw the replay on TV the defender was a foot and a half away from the player who fell.

“Those are the sort of things we’ve got to cut out. Of course, the Villa manager Paul Lambert was soon raging on the touchline because he’d seen a replay of the incident. That’s where all the modern technology doesn’t help.”

Wilkes is still a keen follower of the game despite hanging up his whistle 14 years ago and will be at Wembley on Monday 4th September for England’s World Cup qualifier against Slovakia.

He also remains involved in football around the county and is proud of his position as president of the North Gloucestershire League.

However, he is also concerned at the declining number of teams.

“Yes, it is a worry,” he said. “In my league we’ve had established clubs like Soudley, Yorkley and Newnham drop teams this season.

“Teams are struggling to get players to play. If you look at a lot of the teams they are full of older players.

“The commitment is different today. When I played we planned the weekend around football, now they don’t. They’ll play if they can. It’s the same with cricket. A lot of cricket clubs are struggling for players as well. It’s a great shame.”