Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has called for a change in English football's disciplinary system, suggesting an "ethics committee" that could overrule referees.
Currently, a player can not be punished retrospectively if any of the match officials at the game saw the incident.
However, recent examples, including a nasty-looking challenge by Mario Balotelli that went unpunished and a soft tackle by Shaun Derry for which the Queens Park Rangers defender saw red, have led to criticism of the system.
Now, Wenger has added his voice to the growing number who believe that the current rules lack common sense.
"Basically we are in the position at the moment where if somebody takes a player's leg off, if the referee has seen it and misjudged it, the player gets away with it. For me that is not acceptable," Wenger told Arsenal Magazine.
"If you love football you want justice to prevail. How can it be right that Shaun Derry is suspended and Mario Balotelli isn't? Even if each case might make sense individually when they are explained, when you put the whole picture together you have to say it's not common sense. So there is something missing from the cohesion of the justice system.
"I am convinced that a committee with a supreme authority - an ethics committee - could rule on some cases, and make sure justice is done. They should have the power after games, in exceptional circumstances, to make a decision above the referee. Then the system would be perfect."
Wenger has been in charge of Arsenal for over 15 years, having been appointed in September 1996.
Barney Corkhill
