There has recently been lively debate on the standard of refereeing in the Premier League this season.
Among those voicing an opinion is former England and Newcastle star Alan Shearer who believes the new rules on time-wasting and dissent introduced this season have put an extra burden on the officials.
"It's a hard enough job in the first place without the added pressure," Shearer said last weekend.
But he admitted that at times this season "the standard of refereeing has not been good enough."
He feels that to get things right "might take a bit of time."
Incidents in last week's fiery encounter between Newcastle and Liverpool illustrate just what pressure referees are under when making split-second decisions.
In the fifth minute, Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold was bundled into touch by Newcastle's Anthony Gordon.
It looked like a blatant foul but referee John Brooks instead awarded a throw-in to Newcastle.
The Liverpool defender was clearly upset a foul wasn't given and threw the ball back on the pitch, an action which is deemed an automatic yellow card.
So we have an uncomfortable situation where the player who has been fouled is the one who ends up with the yellow card.
Less than a minute later, Gordon was racing down the wing when Alexander-Arnold, no doubt feeling a sense of injustice, thrusted his arm across Gordon's face.
It looked like it should be a second yellow card, making a red for the Liverpool player.
However, the referee just gave him a verbal warning.
Observers believe the ref was desperate to avoid giving Alexander-Arnold a second yellow which would have meant a controversial sending off so early in the match.
Later, in the 28th minute, Brooks gave Liverpool defender Virgil Van Dijk a straight red after he fouled Newcastle's Alexander Isak, denying a goal-scoring opportunity.
Uproar ensued but Van Dijk had to go.
Newcastle fans and manager Eddie Howe felt Alexander-Arnold should also have received a red.
So that was what the referee had to deal with in just the opening half hour.
If that's not pressure, I don't know what is.
Anyone want to be a referee?
Although fans might be reluctant to admit it, you can't have a game without a referee, otherwise there would be anarchy on the pitch.
At least refs get paid a decent wage these days. There was a time when they did it just for the love of the game and some minor expenses.
So let's not be too hard on the refs because none of us could do any better.
They will always remain key participants on the pitch.
After all, if it wasn't for the refs we wouldn't have anything to complain about during the week.
England retain trophy
A fine hat-trick from Simon Murgatroyd led England expats to a 4-0 victory over Scotland in last week's entertaining clash for the Alex Forbes Memorial Cup at Patana International School.
It was a closer encounter than the score might suggest, but England held the edge and converted their chances.
After an evenly-matched opening 20 minutes, England took the lead when Murgatroyd latched on to a pass from Sean Rum.
A second goal followed which was almost a carbon copy of the first, involving the same players.
The Scots came out strongly in the second half but the opposition defence held firm.
England began to put on the pressure but were thwarted by a fine display from young Scottish goalie Charlie Devaney Rock.
England went further ahead when a through ball from Callum Burns found Tom Pound who slotted the ball home to make it 3-0.
Murgatroyd completed the scoring and his hat-trick when he converted a cross to the far post by England defender Alun Morris.