Now that's th-ugly

Mark Hughes's recent comment on referees' handling of clashes between the Big Four certainly merited some second thoughts.The Blackburn Rovers boss was quoted as saying that referees tend to "give the bigger clubs the benefit of the doubt."

Hughes said: "I watched the games involving the Big Four on Sunday. Some challenges merited straight reds, yet the referees were asking the players to come over and have a chat to calm it down.

"They tend to give the bigger clubs the benefit of the doubt, but I don't see that where Blackburn are concerned. I just see yellow cards coming out too readily and, as a consequence, we are always on a tightrope for sendings-off.

"My gripe is that, in the high-profile games, because of the reaction that would be prompted if a player was sent off, referees tend to err away from making those decisions. They are more inclined to to book players in our games though and Arsenal don't pick up yellows and reds for the challenges that we get penalised for."

Granted,Hughes's words certainly are not far from the truth.The people from Sky,in particular Andy Gray,regularly praise the referee for "keeping his cards in his pocket" and saying stuff like "it's good to see *insert referee name* giving *insert player name* a warning before reaching for his cards" in clashes between the Big Four.Encounters such as these tend to produce heated exchanges and tempers usually flare up faster than usual,particularly when you've got England stalwarts Captain John-

-and Captain Marvel Steven.



So does that mean that every time the Big Four clash,they should be given special treatment just because they are fiercer rivals?Or is it like Hughes said,referees are afraid of the backlash when a player gets booked or sent off?The players have themselves to blame because whenever a decision is given against them,they surround the referee with snarling faces,led by none other than the England captain again.Just because they tend to go in for tackles harder,it doesn't mean that it should be allowed or even worse,go unpunished.Such tackles could end a player's career,as proven by a certain Roy Keane on then-Man City player and fellow Republic of Ireland international teammate Alfie Haaland.



It's time to put a stop to this thuggery and disgrace of the English game.And referees will have the perfect chance to prove that this isn't true (although it is),starting this week with three of the most fiery derbies in world football: Arsenal-Tottenham,Milan-Internaziole,and Barcelona-Real Madrid.