English referee Rob Styles will not be officiating any games in the Premiership next week after his poor performance in the 1-1 draw between Liverpool and Chelsea on Sunday. Styles awarded Chelsea a controversial penalty in the second half after he adjudged that Florent Malouda was fouled by Steve Finnan. Moreover, Styles appeared to show Michael Essien a second yellow card, but the Chelsea player was not sent off as the referee claimed that the caution was intended for John Terry. Consequently, referees' chief Keith Hackett confirmed that the under-fire referee will be banned from officiating any games next week as a result of his mistakes in the Liverpool game. "It's up to the officials to get the big decisions right and in this case it was wrong, so Rob will not be officiating next weekend," Hackett told Sky sports. The penalty incident fuelled a war of words between Jose Mourinho and Rafa Benitez, who are already known for having a frosty relationship.
Mourinho "That decision is impossible to explain, it was the invisible penalty" said Benitez after the game. "There were 45,000 people here and they could not see a penalty. That is why Jose Mourinho could not see it." However, Blues boss Mourinho did not seem to have any complaints about Styles' performance, as the Portuguese manager believed the result was fair. "I haven't seen the replay of the incident and it was difficult to make out what was happening at the time," he said. "Rafa has his opinion and I have mine. I judged the game to be a good and a fair one. "Perhaps there were too many cards but overall I thought Mr. Styles had a positive game.
