I think first of all that Macherano deserved to be sent off on Grand Slam Sunday against Manchester United.He was constantly in the referee's face from when he first got booked,and then he ran across the pitch to get involved in something that had nothing to do with him.When he made the decision to jog over to the ref everyone knew he was going to be sent off,and Alonso even tried to stop him.

Now I believe that it should be the captain of both teams,the ref and the player/players involved in the incident that all have a conversation about who is being booked and why they are being booked.The ref should have a mic on and if someone curses they should be verbally warned and if they persist in using foul language they should be booked.If another player gets involved he should also be warned and if he continues then he should be booked.

Finally I think that if the ref's are going to book players for dissent then every player that commits a simular offence should recieve the same treatment.There is a set of rules and everyone should abide by them,you cannot book one player for a foul and not book another for a simular tackle.

Just my views!

I completely agree with this. The referee should not have to consider the occasion, the teams, the players or how critical the outcome of the game is. If it is an FA Cup final, or the last minute of a crucial top of the league tussle, it has no bearing whatsoever on the decision the ref has to make. Those factors should only be considered by the players, they are the ones who have to consider whether their overheated reactions will help contribute to their team's loss. The referee should only have to consider whether or not an offence has been committed in accordance with the rules of the game all the participants have agreed to play by. The players have a responsibility to their team, fans and club owners and they should realise that they, and they alone, are the ones to blame for idiotic antics on the field that lead to them being sent off.

Chivers: I again agree with your point of view.

P.S. You seem to be the only person on this forum!! Do you know how many members there is??

There are quite a few (50 or more) active members, but most of them do not check in every day. I look in every day so it probably seems like i am here more than most...

The case that you both put forward has been 'argued' for years and years yet, still there is no definite answer to the situation.
Reason: probably because like everyone else they are human and therefore have their faults and hardly any two referees have the same interpretation of the 'Rules'. Officials are renowned for their 'inconsistency'.
FIFA and the FA are those to lay the blame on, their Rules are unclear and allow Officials to interpret any given situation 'the way they see it'.

This post was last modified: 03-25-2008 09:38 AM by greavsie.

Fair enough. But, as professional sportsman, players and managers alike should realise that referees are also human and abide by their judgment. Post game trial by media and the brainless comments of no-hopers, and has-beens like Hansen and the other rent-a-mouths they offer up as "expert" analysers has contributed to raising a generation who simply see the ref as someone who is to be blamed when you get a bad decision. FA and FIFA need to either stand by referees and back them up 100%, or they need to introduce some other means of ensuring some form of consistent "fair play" is adhered to whether that be trial by TV, trial by oafish has-beens or some other way.

This post was last modified: 03-25-2008 04:34 PM by Chivers.

i actually think that the referees too have their good and bad days and on another occasion mascheranos may not have been booked for the first foul (which is what got him worked up in the first place) and the story would have been different. the first yellow card was a fifty-fifty one and since it went against him and liverpool were never really in the game it led to frustrations getting the better of the player. there's not much that can be done in pressure-cooker situations such as these.

Other than accept the ref's decision and get on with matters at hand...

easier said than done - especially in english football where footballers feel they are a law onto themselves. i heard that german spanish and italian football is not as bad and referees don't take so much offence at the remarks thrown at them.