The official laws of football define dissent as "protesting (verbally or non-verbally) against a referee's decision". No mention of the language involved - technically just arguing with the ref counts as dissent.
So I think I can remember at least three previous occasions where Javier Mascherano's harassment of the referee at Old Trafford would have constituted a second booking - before he lost the plot and finally got it.
The protests against the decision seem to consist largely of "well, everyone else does it and gets away with it". Quite a few players, not least John Terry, appear to be taking that line with the current fad for straight reds for nasty tackles. Well, chaps, isn't it tough when refs follow the rules? If you look at them, any tackle deemed to put another player at risk of injury is a straight red. Any insulting or offensive comments or gestures towards a ref (it doesn't even have to involve foul language) equal a sending off as well. It's slightly disturbing that the best and most prominent players in the country don't seem to be aware of this...or choose not to be aware of this.
Admittedly, this shows up blatantly the main problem with referees - inconsistency. It boggles the mind when you see players mouthing expletives at the referees who then ignore it. But if this is the start of a clampdown (I don't think it is - if it was he'd have been off twenty minutes sooner) then about flipping time.
L.
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