A FIFA expert panel wants players to exchange more handshakes on the field to improve the game's image and sportsmanship.

Franz Beckenbauer, chairman of the Task Force Football 2014, said that it recommended players should meet opponents in the center circle after matches: “At full time I think it would be a better image … when leaving the field together and not refusing a handshake. They should be role models and should behave like role models.”

He added that the sport must prevent future incidents such as Liverpool striker Luis Suarez’s recent refusal to shake the hand of Manchester United defender Patrice Evra before a match.

Beckenbauer also suggested that teams could leave the field together at halftime and emerge for the second period together, as well as gather in the center circle after the final whistle: “That is what we used to do when I was at school. I believe one should leave the field the same way one has entered the field."