The mark of a man

Last Sunday was a proper day of football with, in my opinion, still the biggest fixture in the English league — Liverpool versus Manchester United — and then the champions Man City against Arsenal.

There were big talking points from the game at Anfield, mainly refereeing ones. Mark Halsey, who was officiating the game, is someone I have come across every now and again through the years and I always thought he was a decent referee. I have also seen a lot more of him in recent months as he trains at our training ground at Bolton to keep fit.

It’s been sad to see the reaction in the aftermath of Sunday’s match. I haven’t spoken with him but I believe he was subjected to some terrible abuse on Twitter — another week where we are mentioning Twitter in negative terms.