Rob Styles could not have a more appropriate first name, could he? He has been robbing teams for so long now it is wonder that, as of yesterday, there were only 141, 163 and 209 signatures respectively on the three known petitions demanding his removal from the referees’ register.

Inevitably, Styles’s latest blunder – a “cataclysmic cockup”, as Gary Megson, the Bolton Wanderers manager, so eloquently put it – sparked another frenzy of calls for the introduction of video technology to assist officials, but aren’t we missing the point in this case?

The advocates of video technology argue that it will benefit officials in those situations where neither the referee nor his assistants have got sufficient sight of an incident to make an informed decision or where the margins of doubt are significant enough to warrant a second look.

Ten yards away and with a clear sight of the ball, Styles was in an ideal position to make such a judgment at Old Trafford on Saturday when Jlloyd Samuel, the Bolton left back, slid in to intercept Cristiano Ronaldo.

The tackle was perfectly timed and given its force and the speed with which the Manchester United winger was travelling, it would have been almost impossible for the Portuguese to remain on his feet. The fall may have been a touch dramatic, but there was no dive. The reaction – or rather, the lack of one – from Ronaldo, a player prone to histrionic remonstrations, was the giveaway. Neither he nor his United teammates even considered appealing for a penalty.

“Ronaldo was on the floor saying, ‘I didn’t want a penalty,’ ” Kevin Nolan, the Bolton captain, said. “I don’t think one of their players put their hands up asking for a penalty. Darren Fletcher’s going ‘It’s not a penalty,’ Carlos Tévez is going ‘It’s not a penalty.’ They couldn’t believe their luck.”

The decision boiled down to one thing – incompetence. If it had been an isolated incident, Styles could be forgiven. Sadly, there have been too many like it on his watch. The Hampshire referee was similarly well placed when he inexplicably judged Steve Finnan to have fouled Florent Malouda in the penalty area during Liverpool’s Barclays Premier League game against Chelsea at Anfield in August last year. Styles apologised and was banned from officiating on the following weekend.

Seven months later, Styles had a clear view of a legitimate shoulder charge by Sun Jihai, then of Manchester City, on Gary McSheffrey but awarded a penalty to Birmingham City. Once again, the official was sanctioned.

For someone who has been relegated more times than Sunderland in recent seasons, should Styles’s next demotion maybe last a little longer? It is all well and good the FA preaching about respect, but respect has to be earned.

“He’s [Styles] dug United out of a big hole here, given them a free chance and they took it,” Nolan said. How true. Bolton were understandably vexed, but maybe it is Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool who will feel more aggrieved.

For all their possession, United had shown no signs of breaking Bolton’s stubborn resistance before Ronaldo’s penalty on the hour altered the complexion of the game. Bolton had squandered the best chance up until then when Fabrice Muamba shot horribly wide from close range, but goals change games and Wayne Rooney, on as a substitute, sealed the visiting team’s fate with a curling effort for his first strike of the season.

Just like last season, United had taken five points from their opening four matches in the Premier League. A 1-0 victory at home to Sunderland then proved the catalyst for a six-game winning streak and Sir Alex Ferguson will hope this latest win kick-starts a similar run. Only they won’t have themselves to thank for that.

United ratings (4-4-2)

E van der Sar 6 G Neville 7 R Ferdinand 8 N Vidic 7 P Evra 8 C Ronaldo 7 D Fletcher 7 Anderson 6 Park Ji Sung 6 C Tévez 5 D Berbatov 7 Substitutes: P Scholes (for Anderson, 71min); W Rooney (for Tévez, 71); Nani (for Ronaldo, 80). Not used: B Amos, R Giggs, J O’Shea, J Evans. Next: Blackburn Rovers (a).

Bolton ratings (4-1-4-1)

J Jaaskelainen 8 G Steinsson 6 G Cahill 7 A O’Brien 7 J Samuel 6 G McCann 6 K Davies 6 K Nolan 6 F Muamba 7 R Gardner 6 J Elmander 5 Substitutes: R Vaz Té (for Elmander, 66min 5); E Smolarek (for Gardner, 73). Not used: A Al Habsi, M Taylor, J O’Brien, M Riga, D Shittu. Next: West Ham United (a)

Referee R Styles Attendance 75,484