Stuart Pearce believes FIFA boss Sepp Blatter's remarks about outlawing certain types of challenges in the game should be treated with caution.
The former Nottingham Forest, West Ham, Newcastle and England defender, who now manages the England Under-21 side, fears the game will lose much of its passion and appeal if there is too much more legislation to stop players making strong challenges.
Blatter's comments came in the wake of the tackle by Birmingham's Martin Taylor which caused a double leg fracture to Arsenal's Eduardo da Silva and has put a doubt over the Brazil-born Crotia star's career.
Taylor has been suspended for the regulation three matches but FIFA are to call for the Football Association to send them the disciplinary file on the incident involving Taylor.
Blatter said his organisation have the right to ask for such files to ensure that appropriate sanctions have been issued.
Referees are already under compulsory instruction to issue red cards for violent tackles from behind and reckless, two-footed challenges.
But Pearce said: "Although I think outlawing dangerous tackles is a good thing, full stop, we've still got to leave it to the referees to decide what is a bad tackle and what is a mistimed one.
"We've got to be careful we don't outlaw tackles altogether. I've watched various games and various tackles in all the leagues around the world and I like to think that I know the ones that are intentional and the ones that are not intentional.
"People don't want dangerous tackles and they don't want injuries. Of course they don't, but I've probably seen a good few worse than the one by Taylor if not, maybe, not so many that have done so much damage.
"Tackling properly is an art and can be coached like any other facet of the game, but such is the pace of the game these days that if you mistime one it can look horrendously poor."
Pearce, speaking at a Football Association-Tesco Skills Programme event said: "Knowing the individual in Taylor he's not the sort to do harm deliberately."
But the former Manchester City manager who played until he was 39 and won 78 England caps, did admit that a deteriorating amount of "trust" between opposing players in the modern game could be responsible for many of today's serious injuries.
He said: "You might have to allude to the fact that when you are running at someone with pace you have to trust they are going for the ball and, possibly, a little bit of trust has gone out of the game
"That's what may have possibly created what you are seeing at the moment. Lack of trust or cowardice? I think it is somewhere between the two
"In days gone by, when I was playing and long before that, there were bad tackles as well but, for me, the referees are still there to run the game and they've got to decide, on an individual basis, what a bad tackle is."
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