When a referee has a total shocker, the players or the managers who suffered the most from the poor calls must bite their lip for fear of punishment. Speaking negatively about a refereeis a complete no-no for those still playing, but it's fair game for ex-pros who have become pundits, and they are rarely shy to mince their words.
Manchester United recorded consecutive victories in the Premier League for just the 2nd time since August by beating Crystal Palace 2-1 at Selhurst Park on Wednesday night, and although Zlatan Ibrahimovic was the hero with a beautifully taken late goal, the Match Of The Day analysis could only start in one place.
Craig Pawson (that's his real name and not an early Pro Evolution Soccer version of the name Craig Dawson) and his assistants were all over the shop, and got several major incidents badly wrong. We appreciate that it's ridiculously tough to officiate in the Premier League, but this was bad.
Alan Shearer pulled no punches as he looked back over some genuine head-scratching moments:
Man Utd took all three points, but the goal shouldn't have stood and Rojo should have been red carded, but then they had a clear penalty not given and a perfectly good goal ruled out... Who was hard-done-by here?
In a world where Mark Clattenburg got a Champions League trophy tattoo after doing the final and stands behind free kicks like he's genuinely thinking he can bang on in the top corner, and Michael Oliver has speedlines like a 14-year-old who buys 'Fast Car' magazine, it's not a great time for Premier League referees.
