OVERALL, I THOUGHT Michael Oliver refereed the 2-2 draw between Liverpool and Arsenal very well. You could say that Mathieu Flamini led with his elbow and, on another day, he could have been sent off. It was lucky.

When you have a big game like that, you do sometimes referee it a bit differently. You don’t want everyone to talk about you; you want to come away from the match unscathed.

I think Michael would admit that, had he not already booked Flamini, he would have cautioned him for the elbow. I can understand why he didn’t do it. Sometimes, to enhance your reputation, you’ve got to make unpopular decisions.

I’d have to disagree with Brendan Rodgers, who felt that Alexis Sanchez dived to win the free kick which led to Arsenal’s equaliser. You can see there is clear contact from Steven Gerrard, although Alexis may have gone down easily.

It’s like every player: they make a meal of the contact but there can’t be any complaints – they are all doing it to each other. Players have been going down easily in recent weeks and it’s up to the Professional Footballers’ Association to get in touch with its members and speak to them.

Fabio Borini should also have no complaints. He’s lucky he didn’t get a straight red for the second challenge.

Unlucky Gab

Gabriel Agbonlahor’s dismissal against Manchester United was never a red card in a million years. If you look at Lee Mason’s position, it was totally wrong.

He’s not made himself any angle, he’s behind Agbonlahor, he can’t possibly see the challenge. He’s gone by Ashley Young’s reaction on the floor and guessed.

He’s taken his red card out too quickly, he’s not given himself any thinking time and the challenge has not met the criteria for serious foul play.

I think Young is most probably the one who’s committed the foul – he’s the one who has gone in the strongest – but it’s a fair, strong challenge by both players. In this situation, the referee would have been best to have done nothing.

I’d fully expect Aston Villa to appeal that red card and I expect it to be overturned. Having said that, who knows with the Football Association? A red card will only be overturned if the referee has clearly made a serious error – in this case, Lee Mason has – so the evidence backs up Aston Villa. It all depends on the DVD evidence that the club submit.

By Mark Halsey, Goal.com

Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey was speaking to Chris Davie on behalf of You Are The Ref. For detailed referee analysis from the experts visit www.you-are-the-ref.com

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