Under-fire Rob Styles and his refereeing colleagues have found an
unlikely ally in the shape of Sunderland boss Roy Keane.
The 36-year-old freely admits he was the scourge of officials
during his hugely successful playing career.
However, in the wake of Styles' high-profile punishment for his
error in awarding Chelsea a crucial penalty at Liverpool last
Sunday - he will not take charge of a game this weekend - Keane has
called on his colleagues to ease the pressure on the men in the
middle.
He said: "I know it might sound crazy, but I do believe a lot of
people are putting too much pressure on the referees.
"I know I did as a player - I am sure there is going to be a
picture now of me chasing a referee - but that was then.
"The referees are full-time now and they are aware of the pressures
involved. It is the same for managers, for players, for
chairmen.
"The pressures are pretty intense, but that's the way of the world,
it's not going to change.
"I do not really speak about referees after the game. You do need a
cooling off period.
"I have spoken to the assessor sometimes 48 hours after the game
and I make my points then.
"I think you can be constructive then because after the game, your
emotions are running high and sometimes you will see an incident
later on and you might not have seen it properly.
"I am a great believer that these things pan out over the
season."
Keane appears to be mellowing as he embarks upon his second season
as a manager - it was something he admitted he would have to do
when he took on the job 12 months ago - although his players may
have questioned that after last weekend's 3-0 Barclays Premier
League defeat at Wigan.