This morning I did my usual scout around the footie sites and I see that Alexander Hleb has joined the ever increasing list of players, mangers and fans who have been hitting out about the quality of the refereeing in the game! We at Arsenal may be reeling from two dodgy decisions this past week but we’re not alone. Time and time again every team goes through a spell of thinking they’re getting the short end of the wedge.

For me, I have always said that for every bad decision that goes against you, you get a bad decision that goes for you, so over the course of a season it always cancels itself out. I’d hate to be a ref as sometimes it can take more than one slowmo, from more than one angle, for even us fans to decide. Having said that though there are some decisions so blatant that you just feel the Gods are against you. You look at the refs position and scream “how can you not see that”!!!!!

There are conspiracy theories that say refs are intimidated by certain stadiums and won’t go against the home fans – but these guys are used to being in massive stadiums that hold tens of thousands of fans – can that argument really hold?

All I can say is that when Liverpool were given that peno the other night I looked at my mate as we prepared to watch the slowmo and I said how I hoped it was a dead cert peno as at least I wouldn’t be sick to the stomach feeling I was robbed – and what do you know – it was soft as could be!

You ask any football fan and they can tell you a key decision that went against them. So what can be done? Video ref? I’m not a big fan of that one, slows everything down to much, although for questions of whether or not a ball crossed the goal line I can see the argument and for penalty claims. Maybe get the refs talking in their ear piece to the forth official in real time? That way the game keeps moving but there’s another angle to be taken into account. Let’s face it, the refs assistants seem useless, all they have to do is call offsides and so often they get it so clearly wrong!

Something has to be done, with all the diving in the game FIFA have to take a real look at how decisions are made. Also, the FA have to have a look at having the courage to overturn stupid sendings off as well as retracting cards, both of which they seldom do no matter how obvious it is - Jeremie Aliadiere anyone!!!! Got an extra match ban for wasting the time of the FA when his club questioned his sending off – a sending off which was clearly a wrong decision!

This argument will go on and on and us fans will be the ones to suffer. Having your heart broken is bad enough without being cheated on!!!