++ [ originally posted by Arif ] ++
Ref D’Urso’s Handling To Be Probed
The Football Association intends to investigate why referee Andy D’Urso did not send off Barry Ferguson during Blackburn’s defeat by Southampton on Saturday.
D’Urso cautioned Ferguson twice in Blackburn’s 3-2 defeat but, unaccountably, did not show him the obligatory red card after the second offence.
FA head of refereeing, John Baker, said: "We have to ask why he was not sent off and the role of the fourth official, who should have told him what had happened.
"It’s the FA’s responsibility to hear when things are not quite right. The first responsibility is the referee’s but there is a responsibility of the fourth official. But it was right at the end of the game and it happened very quickly. That has to be taken into account and we cannot anticipate what will happen."
Ferguson is still expected to serve a one-match suspension for his double booking - despite not being sent off.
"It would seem pretty logical that two bookings would mean he will be suspended," added Baker.