But it is far from the first time a referee has attracted the wrong kind of attention.

Here we look back at some memorable gaffes.

GRAHAM POLL, Australia v Croatia, 2006 It will aggrieve Poll no end that a long and distinguished refereeing career is remembered predominantly for his highest-profile error. Poll came into the World Cup in Germany with high hopes of being chosen for the final but was one of 14 officials who exited after the group stages following his perplexing decision to award Josip Simunic two yellow cards but not a red. The Croat did not prove untouchable though and eventually got his marching orders after being cautioned by the Tring official for a third time.

MARK HALSEY, Tottenham v Chelsea, 2002 Another case of mistaken identity as Blues striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was punished for a foul by the significantly taller, significantly bigger, significantly more dreadlocked Mario Melchiot.

The FA, after reviewing TV evidence and consulting with the apologetic referee, later agreed to transfer the ban to Melchiot. It was scant consolation for Chelsea, though, who lost the Worthington Cup clash to Spurs.

CHARLES CORVER, France V Germany, 1982 Even more reluctant than Poll to produce a red card, Corver amazed the watching football world by failing to take action against German goalkeeper Harald Schumacher when he totalled Patrick Battiston as he chased Michel Platini's through-ball.

Battiston was eventually taken from the pitch unconscious and took a lengthy period of time to recover.

But instead of producing a card or awarding a penalty, Corver inscrutably signalled for a goal kick, a decision which put Germany on the road to an eventual win on penalties.