Football: Andy Gray column: It's a load of reffin' nonsense

I HAVE seen some ridiculous decisions in my time in football but the two-match ban and fine dished out to Patrick Vieira for telling referee Andy D'Urso he had no personality beats the lot - what a joke!

I am not saying players should go around hurling abuse in the face of referees but you can't play football and not use industrial language - not that Vieira used any.

It's such a passionate sport that you say things on the spur on the moment. It's OK for people on the outside to say you have just got to bite your lip. It's not so easy if you are playing and reacting to an incident in an emotionally charged game. I know because I have been there and done it.

To be fair, the majority of referees tend to accept that players are going to swear, cock a deaf ear to it and let them get on with it. Arsene Wenger is right when he says there would be a queue of players outside the FA if referees felt the need to go running to them every time a footballer swore at them.

Obviously, when it becomes nasty personal abuse then that's different and the referees have to react accordingly. What constitutes personal abuse is open to interpretation, but I don't accept being told you have no personality falls into that category.

The Andy D'Urso incident absolutely staggered me on two accounts. First, that he felt any need to report the player to the FA in the first place. Second, I am even more gobsmacked that having received the complaint the FA decided to go ahead and ban and fine Vieira even though they had a lip-reader's evidence to confirm the player did not say anything that could be classed as foul language.

I have huge sympathy with Arsenal and Patrick, who quite rightly feel they have been unfairly treated. The whole thing is absurd.

I have absolutely no sympathy for D'Urso. He is working in an industry where this sort of thing is going to happen, whether he likes it or not. If he gets upset when someone says he has had a personality transplant what the hell is going to happen when someone really gives him a verbal lashing?

You might remember this is the ref who backed away 40 yards when a crowd of Manchester United players surrounded him and threw all sorts of abuse his way after he gave a penalty against them. I don't remember him reporting a single player to the FA then. So I'd like to know why he dropped Vieira in it for something that was trivial. It's insane.

I fully understand that the FA must be seen to back referees, but not when it is so laughably wrong as this.

The Premiership is now the best league in the world and it deserves referees to match. That means there is a responsibilty on the FA and the people who control refs to make sure that only the best get the big games. They have to be respected, not laughed at.

Paul Durkin springs to mind as a great referee who the players respect. I can't say the same about D'Urso. I have seen far too many games he has lost control of. The game between Arsenal and Chelsea which resulted in this farce was just one of them.

Apart from making himself look stupid he has damaged the reputation of all referees. They will never admit it but I can't believe other refs didn't look at this ludicrous episode and ask what the hell was going on because it makes them a laughing-stock.

There is a process now where referees are judged on their performance and unless he raises his game significantly the time must surely be coming when someone is going to have to have a word with Mr D'Urso. At a time when Nationwide referees are excelling and looking for a move up to the Premiership, those who are already at the top who cannot hack it will have to make way.

The Referees' Association can't ignore this and I am sure that if a referee is struggling and cannot get to grips with the pressures of controlling a Premiership game then they will take the appropriate action...for their sake and that of the game.

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