French ref warns Essien

Thursday 8 December, 2005

Ligue 1 referee Pascal Garibian has told Michael Essien that he needs to cut out the nasty streak in his game.

Since arriving at Chelsea, the former Lyon midfielder was reprimanded for a high challenge on Bolton’s Ben Haim - and he then repeated the trick against Liverpool midfielder Didi Hamann in the Champions' League.

“Michael must learn to control himself in tense situations. He is playing against people who do the same job,” said Garibian.

“Michael was not known by us as a thug. But he does run the danger of what we call excessive commitment.

“French referees meet every six weeks or so to watch videos of match action together and try to get some uniformity of judgment.

“And, watching Michael, you could see the potential for him to be over-combative. He has to control himself in very tense situations.”

A former Bastia and Lyon midfielder, the Ghanaian was the Player of the Year in Ligue 1 last season.