Double Standards

How fortunate it was that when the Blackburn Rovers v West Ham United game erupted into unpleasantness reminiscent of a recent encounter between Chelsea and Arsenal, the referee was former P C Howard Webb, the man who was so roundly praised for his handling of the Carling Cup final and therefore knew exactly what to do.

Except that on the occasion of this particular scuffle nobody actually got sent off or subsequently accused of bringing the game into disrepute. Leaving many witnesses free to wonder whether Mr Webb has mellowed. Or whether the absence, on this occasion, of the dreaded Arsenal ensured that there was no need for draconian measures.

Anyway, the good news was that Blackburn manager Mark Hughes, who considered that his team had been hard done by, felt free to approach Mr Webb immediately after the final in order to convey, without recourse to diplomacy, his disappointment with the way in which the match had been handled.

A privilege which appears to have been routinely denied to Mr Arsene Wenger, a regular guest of the F.A. disciplinary committee.