Mane's handball may well of been because he expected a foul to be awarded, but it also meant that it was an act that '' deliberately and blatantly handles the ball to prevent an opponent gaining possession ''.

I can accept that referees can make mistakes but this was a failure to apply the laws and that I can't accept.

And I really don't get this double punishment business either. When Wilf got flattened by their 'keeper that should have been a red a card. If a similar foul had taken place by another player in another part of the pitch, you could expect that to be a red card and a free kick. Why there should be differing rules just because the offense was in the penalty area ?

A deliberate handball does not automatically mean a caution.

The Law states :

There are circumstances when a caution for unsporting
behaviour is required when a player deliberately hand
the ball, e.g. when a player:
•
deliberately and blatantly handles the ball to prevent
an opponent gaining possession
•
attempts to score a goal by deliberately handling the ball.

In terms of the incident involving Mane, there is no dispute that he deliberately handled but he might have done so because he thought he had been fouled hence a free kick.

In terms of an opponent gaining possession if my recollection is correct, McCarthy was not near the ball and Mane was nearest to it and was favourite to get to it first.

Obviously I don't know what was going through the referees mind so any comment as to the possibilities would be pure speculation.

In any event the debate is about the referee who at the end of the day didn't lose us the game,in fact he made an excellent decision NOT to award a penalty when Mane went to ground.Step forward Messrs Benteke and Sakho who certainly played their part in our defeat.

Watch it again, Mane had lost possession and again was on his a*** (possibly another dive) and Cabaye would have been past him WITH THE BALL, in my book that is stopping an opponent gaining possession. We all know you will never say the ref was wrong but he was. Did that lose us the game, probably not. Could it have had a bearing on the result, absolutely. Apparently Paddy Power tweeted the ref had reached into his card pocket but then changed his mind... corruption? who knows. Cheating? possibly. Bottling a big decision against a top club? Absoulutely

I have consistently said that referees DO err from time to time - they are not always right.

On average they make approx 245 decisions in a game and make on average 5 mistakes which means they are right 98% of the time.

Can't stop cringing over the Liverpool fans saying contact is a foul. A foul is contact that brings you down, exactly why it wasn't a penalty as he had to jump up to fall over seconds later. Have actually banned myself from Twitter for the day as it's too painful to read some Liverpool fans so deluded of the rules.