Rafael BenÍtez, the Liverpool manager, may get his opportunity to discuss the Javier Mascherano affair with Keith Hackett, the general manager of Professional Game Match Officials Ltd (PGMOL), the referees’ governing body. However, it will not be until the case of the Argentina midfield player has been decided by the FA and will take place in private.

BenÍtez made his public request for a meeting after Mascherano had been sent off in the 3-0 defeat by Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday. “I would like to speak to Keith Hackett because it is important that we find a solution,” the Spaniard said. “At Liverpool we respect the game, the rules and the referee. It is important to remember that Mascherano was the first Liverpool player to be sent off in the league this season.”

PGMOL holds meetings with groups of managers during the preseason build-up and regular talks with the League Managers Association and Professional Footballers’ Association throughout the campaign. Last season, José Mourinho, then manager of Chelsea, tried to get an individual audience with Hackett to clarify several “concerns”. Yet when the Portuguese made known his intention, the chat was cancelled. BenÍtez’s tête-à-tête would not take place until after Mascherano’s case - he has been charged with improper conduct - has been dealt with by the FA.

Mike Riley, the Premier League referee, will take charge of the matches between Charlton Athletic and Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Coca-Cola Championship on Saturday and Carlisle United and Nottingham Forest in Coca-Cola League One on Tuesday. It is not viewed as punishment for his failure to send off Ashley Cole in the 4-4 draw between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea last week, more one of the “rest” periods in the lower leagues given to elite officials during the season.