Rafa Defends Mascherno Sending-Off

Rafa Benitez has defended Javier Mascherano for being sent-off merely for asking a question to the referee during our humiliating 3-0 defeat at the hands of Man Ure yesterday afternoon. 

“The player knows he has made a mistake, but in this kind of game to be sent off just for ‘asking’, I find it a difficult decision to understand,” Benitez said.

“I don’t know whether it was anything to do with the Ashley Cole incident, you will have to ask the referee.

“Javier was sent off for dissent, but to be sent off for asking the official something is a surprise. He knows he made a mistake, but in a big game like this it is difficult to understand.

“I was talking with him in Spanish, he told me he was just asking, but I was saying ‘finish’ because you cannot change things.

“Javier is a fantastic professional and has been playing for years at the maximum level. He just did not understand.

“I was trying to say to him ‘finish, finish’ - but we are still very disappointed with the decision.” he added.

“When you are a professional and play a big game like this, you are surprised at such a sending-off and you want to know why. It was a surprise for everyone.

“Was the referee intimidated by the crowd? I don’t know, you must ask him.

“If you want to win you must have passion in a big game, and sometimes you make mistakes, but he was only asking the referee about a bad tackle.

“I have talked to him and he knows it was a mistake. But he was booked earlier for a tackle and did not understand why. I felt the sending-off was difficult to understand.

“I do not think that just to ‘ask’ is a big problem in the end. Maybe Javier does not know the referees.” said Rafa.