You wouldn`t think that the stuffed shirts who run the Premier League are intelligent enough to have a sense of humour, but the appointment of Rob Styles to referee Saturday`s match between Bolton and Liverpool suggests otherwise. For those who`ve been taking a mid-season break in a distant galaxy, Styles was the numpty who awarded Manchester United a penalty at Old Trafford after Jlloyd Samuel had dispossessed Christiano Ronaldo with a superbly timed and entirely legal tackle. Styles said he was sorry. So that`s alright then.
Not that the Hampshire official is warmly regarded at Anfield. In August 2007 he gave a penalty to Chelsea after Steve Finnan had looked at Florent Malouda in a funny way. Jamie Carragher was aghast, and not just because some scally had glued his hands to his head at half-time. 
Styles apologised then as well, but was dropped for the following weeks fixtures. A shame it couldn`t have been permanent.
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