The independent chairman of the Football Association, Lord Triesman, has praised referee Steve Bennett for showing "the bottle" to send off Javier Mascherano on Sunday.

Triesman supported Bennett, whose decision to show the Liverpool midfielder a second yellow card for dissent against Manchester United has caused plenty of debate, with the Argentina international and Reds boss Rafael Benitez both questioning the dismissal.

Ashley Cole, the Chelsea defender, brought the issue to light earlier this month when he was involved in a prolonged show of petulance against Mike Riley, but on that occasion the player was not sent off.

Triesman is a keen supporter of the FA's newly-announced initiative to foster a culture of respect for officials in the sport and he believes more referees need to copy Bennett by punishing players who fail to uphold those standards.

He said: "I thought he had done what I would like to feel referees will do - which is to have the bottle to do what is necessary. I'm not going to prejudge the issue because there may be hearings here, and I'm not going to cloud the process, but in my view it's the beginning of referees saying they are part of the equation.

"They have to use the powers they have. You can have the campaign, try to work with parents, devise new rules, but someone has to do it in the middle of the field."