Mascherano's behaviour was out of order. He swore at the referee after his booking - for which he should have been booked again and sent off. Racing over to have a go again was just stupidity beyong belief!

Why has Gordon taylor only now just said some action is necessary? Why has the PFA not shown som iniatiative and given us all what decent fans want to see - respect for officials on (and off) the pitch. Managers, playesr and those in senior positions in the game have a duty to do something and do it now. Cole's behaviour was attrocious - Riley should have sent him off. It spoils the game for us all....

John, Bristol,

As a Liverpool fan I actually agree with Masherano’s sending off, but bet my house that Manu, Arsenal and Chelsea players will continue to berate refs without punishment. Also Fergie’s and Queiroz’s abuse of officials after the Portsmouth defeat was probably worse, and let’s not forget Fergie saying Ronaldo needs protection from Referees, Torres in my opinion gets the worse treatment in the league especially from Ferdinand and Terry, Terry even admitted to “trying a few things” against him when he (Terry) appeared on Goals on Sunday. Ferdinand also was accused by a foreign player I don’t remember the name, of kicking him all through his debut in England and saying “Welcome to the Premiership”. This is all well and good and I would probably do the same, but pot kettle black springs to mind.
I predict that the next time Terry and Ferdinand line up against Torres in an international fixture, one of them will be off!

Lee, Cornwall, England

taylor the butcher of brum goes in to break leg, breaks said leg 3 match ban
mascherano asks ref question is sent off for 2 yellows 1 match ban but will be increased to 4 or 5 weeks
this is justice FA style
just goes to prove they think officals are more important than players

seamus, dublin, ireland

The only person who needs the FA to review video evidence is Steve Bennett he officiated this match with a preset agenda and his performance was at the least questionable .
Even Andy Gray ( as Blue nosed as you can get ) was firmly on the side of Mascherano in his Last Word review on sunday evening he clearly showed the Torres incident where Rio Ferdinand kicked out at Torres then Paul Scholes kicked him and stood on his calf and then Ferdinand chopped him to the ground , all this with Steve Bennett only 3 yards away AND WHO GETS BOOKED , Torres . no wonder the Liverpool players were incensed . However at no time did any Liverpool player approach the ref in an aggressive or abusive manner unlike many incidents involving Chelsea or Manchester united players where they run at the ref snarling and swearing .and before you all get excited even Steve Bennett confirmed that during this incident he was not sworn at .

paul sherborne, barnstaple, devon

mascherano was extremely unlucky - all he said to the ref was "what's happened?" or something similar. How can that possibly be dissent?

The ref was totally inconsistent. He allowed players to swear at him throughout the game, including mascherano, then sent off someone for asking a question in a controlled manner.

The ref was at fault here, not mascherano. He lost his cool in a high pressure game and made a big mistake.

The refs are part of the game and to put them in an untouchable bubble is ridiculous. Communication from both parties is essential.

jim, london,

I cant believe the amount of pompous rubbish being talked about in papers and on the radio over this. This was a clear case of a referee losing control. In any sphere of life, from the classroom to the boardroom to the sports field, respect and control is earned through strong, consistent decision making, good communication and clarity of purpose.
Steve Bennett appeared to offer none of these. He appeared to be acting on his own agenda without any communication to the players. On the incident itself, he seemed to book Torres for having the audacity to ask him what he had to do to get a free kick after being kicked himself halfway down the pitch followed up by sending off a player who asked why.
This approach was inconsistent with the way the rules are applied, showed a huge disregard to the players and was completely absent of any communication. Get this right and players might stop shouting at refs, which by the way Mascherano wasnt even doing at the time.

Phil, Reading,

Javier Mascherano should, quite rightly, have been sent off. His language was foul, obvious and persistent toward the referee. The stupid thing about this is, had the match been played 2 weekends before, Mascherano would have already been off the field for his first tackle. Mr Bennett would have followed the calls for the crack down on rash tackling in the ilk that so hurrendously injured Eduardo of Arsenal.

Yes, we need to stop the foul language, yes we need to stop the rash tackling and all the ridiculous traits the English game holds. But why should teams suffer week in week out, the inconsistent, extreme, reactive approach to the application of the rules that referees, exhibit 1: Steve Bennett, continue to show?

Gareth Pritchard, Liverpool,

He should have been sent off the after the first yellow, when he started swearing at the ref. This stuff is beamed directly to people's sitting rooms and does have an affect on boys and girls watching it. If the footballers don't show respect to the people in authority what kind of message is this giving our kids ? They should also stop spitting every 5 seconds !!

Dave, London,

Its like trying to claim your been made an example of when your speeding. At the end of the day he broke the rules, by any objective measure he behaved badly and deserved to be sent off. As should anyone else and it should be like Rugby where only Captains should talk to the Ref. Otherwise what is the point of the armband?

Chris Allison, London, UK

I agree that Mascherano should receive aditional punishment, but if this is going to happen then surely Cole must be treated even more severely, as his disgusting actions merit. If not. the accusations of favouratism towards Chelsea will be justafiably loud.

Steve Henesy, Nottingham,

Mascherano was behaving like mental case - swearing all the time at referee and looking for fight.
Any player who is swearing on the pitch should be (may be) warned once and the next time punished with red.
Why should primitive yobs be tolerated in football?
Is it ok because football is considered a lower class sport?
It is unimaginable that someone could swear at ref in basketball or tennis and get away.

Savo, London, UK

Jim, Brussels: "Never mind. Next year we'll DIC United."
Always next year with Liverpool, eh, Jim.

Mascherano got what he deserved - end of argument. Another to go on the "it's not our fault" list. Must be up to 100 now.

Tony, Liverpool,

Gordon Taylor states, belatedly, "we should treat referees as no-go areas and learn from other sports".
I am a Rugby League fan for a number of reasons, one being the discipline.
Captains are allowed to ask the ref why he made a decision, but any dissent from the captain or intervention from another player, results in an automatic loss of 10 metres on the pitch. As a result, even diminutive refs have the respect of 16 stone, 6 feet 6 inch giants (who, incidentally, don't moan when they get tripped up). And kids playing RL learn this lesson at grass roots level.

Stewart, Mold, North Wales

Did you see Adebayor chelsea-arsenal went up to the ref and even scolded, screamed with mouth wide open at the Ref. Not even a yellow !. If Mascherano gets punished do it to arsenal and Manu players as well.
Now only Chelsea and Liverpool players get the stick. Easy vitims so to say so the whole matter is worth nothing. Look at how Torres got kicked at. Not even a yellow ! So you only make things worse this way.

max, breda, holland

He apologised for something he didn't know it was wrong.

Tony, Durham, uk

Never mind. Next year we'll DIC United.

jim, brussels, belgium

The topic of respect for referee is fine, but the fact is:

Sir Alec demanded protection for his boys and ref Bennett obediently did provide that "extra protection" by sending Mascherano off for two ridiculous yellow cards.

And now they can book me for dissenting to this mascherade of preferential refereeing.

E. Aerne
Switzerland

Emil Aerne, ST.Gallen, Switzerland

Another classic example of the Liverpudlian skill of trying to make themselves as perpetrators into victims.. Mascherano was lucky not to be booked twice the first time, his tackle which got him the booking and then the mouthing of the f word at least ten times to the ref was clearly visible on the tv. He should have been sent off then.

Pete, Barry, Wales

Where was Gerrard when all this was happening? Shouldn't be Captain if he can't do his job. Carragher should be wearing the armband. They just haven't got things right at Liverpool yet. Too many silly mistakes like this cost them dearly.

sarah, Marseille, France

"Javi boiled over." Thanks Riise, you in 3 words have summed up why he was sent off. Unfortunately this incident has demonstrated again why Rafa will never win the Premiership. He just seems incapable of making the correct calls in league games, whetehr in selection, transfers or in game direction.
The second yellow was clearly justified to anyone who can see. But it should never have come to that. Rafa should have been calming him down half an hour previously. He didn't, "Javi boiled over" and the rest is history. All Liverpool are trying to do is distract from their teams complete average-ness. They were poor. UTD beat them comfortably, and Ronaldo didn't really play. Simple as that. Whether Javi had stayed on or not is irrevelevant. And no one is making a scapegoat. Just because someone got away with it before, and will again, doesn't mean a seperate transgression should be ignored. They should have sent Keane et al off yrs ago, but they didn't. About time I say.

David, Launceston, UK

From the moment Mascherano was booked, he approached the ref, questioning and debating every decision against Liverpool, at every opportunity when in the ref's earshot he was seen to be making some comment.

Had my child behaved in this manner I would send her to her room and ground her for a day. It was showing a total lack of respect for the official.

Ban him and fine him heavily as an example

Michael Holloway, Sydney, Australia/ NSW