Are you saying, for instance, that Ashley Cole was completely right whinging that he’d been booked for what was obviously a red card tackle?

We need the refs respected by the footballers. The nature of football is such that we can’t stop and start it, it’s a flowing game – decisions must be made on the spot. For instance, we can’t pause for 30 seconds while the ref watches a replay of an appeal for a penalty, because what if in the meantime the other side could have broken up the other end and scored on the counter? Football would have kept up with the times if it was possible, but if you compare the natural pace with cricket, where after every ball there is a pause anyway, and therefore technology is prevalent, you begin to see why.

I think that this whole situation is really one that has come from the fact that football has not kept up with the times in terms of officiating. Refs need more help in getting their decisions right. Instant replays, in super slow motion, show fans at home and even in stadiums what happened, and so they can immediately spot poor decisions. Players can see for themselves after the fact how badly officials blunder when they review games on tape. All this has eroded the confidence in refs. So something must be done to help them get the decisions right. They also need to be given the support in allowing them to leverage on technology to get things right. This will build confidence, and as a result build respect.

About this there can be no arguement. That Mike Riley declined to properly do his job last weekend is of little relevance.

Namir, I think that you descredit everything you say by stating that 10 seconds of dissent should never constitute a yellow card. In ten seconds, you could, for instance, say “I hope, referee, you and your family die a slow slow death”. Clearly this would be dissent.

But, at the end of the day, it’s not about the length of time Mascherano questioned the referee – and indeed if it was, then one would have to consider the multiple times he’d questioned decisions before in the game, which would clearly lead to a booking. No. It’s about what he said and the manner in which he said it. And since no one really knows that apart from the player and the ref, we’ll have to trust the referee’s judgement. I certainly understand his frustration with the player given he’d just seconds earlier booked a team mate for exactly the same offence.

How did Mascherano think that conversation could end positively for him? Was the referee about to change his mind?! Of course not. He was out of line and fully deserved his punishment.

I agreed that Mascherano should be sent off, that guy lost his cool and went over to ask a question when he’s over the other side of the field, but due to Steve’s inconsistency, he had failed to protect a player from getting roughed up.

Is refereeing all about authority, and less about protecting the best interest of football itself?

I think he ought to reflect on why he ever choose the path in the first place.

The first tackle that Masch laid, he was a little late but already committed. So he tucked in his legs to ensure that there was no risk of a yellow card. And he gets given one anyway.

And then Masch had to watch as time and again as much worse tackles were laid by players and nothing was said.

Then he watches as Torres, the new Reds Talisman, is given yet another soft yellow card. So he goes over to ask why. No sooner does he go in to ask before he sees a second yellow.

I’d be pretty confused too.

Masch has been playing and watching football for twenty odd years now, and never seen decisions like that. He’s played about 40 odd games this season and not seen any decision like those.

This was the one of the biggest games of the season. There is a time and a place to give the refs license to change the way they discipline players, but this game definitely wasn’t it.

After the first yellow, he should have called Gerrard over to let him know to cool Masch down. 10 seconds of ‘dissent’ should never warrant a red card under any circumstances.

Quite simple – every team has to have a field representative (if the captain is the goalie, choose someone else as well), and only they can talk to the referee for the duration of the game. If the ref wants a player to calm down, they ask the team rep or captain to talk to that player – surely more effective a message if coming from a colleague rather than a referee.

Anyone breaks the rules, yellow card.

This needs to come from FIFA though, and the problem with that is that Platini will need to find time out of his busy schedule of England-bashing to actually do something to progress the game of football, so unfortunately it’s unlikely.

Meanwhile, can we have a show of huge respect for Middlesbrough, who have a club rule that players don’t chat back to the ref – if they do, they get fined. Well done – let’s give them the UEFA cup fair play spot! Oh wait, that would involve Blatter taking time out of his busy England-bashing schedule to do something useful…