Back when I played professional football, in over 750 games, I tried very hard not to be angry.

It generally didn’t help my performance and anyway what would I get angry about? Bad luck? No point really, stuff happens. Getting injured in the call of duty? Once again it was just an occupational hazard. Even tough tackles from opponents were taken in the spirit that my opponent simply wanted to win the game and the ball as much as I did. It was and is part of the game.

There were two things that generally got me and every other player furious to the point of rage. The first was a fellow professional attempting to seriously injure me and the second was referees who were incompetent to the point of endangering the players’ safety. I can guess you are slightly ahead of me here considering what happened at the weekend.

The two tackles by Ashley Barnes, the first on Branislav Ivanovic and the second follow-through on Nemanja Matic were so far beyond fair attempts for the ball that the old fury boiled over. Now I am not the only one who thought that on the day at Stamford Bridge, but I was working as co-commentator for BBC Radio 5 Live and I was fully aware of my responsibilities. I have to be fair, impartial and if possible, composed to give the listener an accurate view of proceedings and hopefully I do that most of the time.

I think I just about managed to keep in control but my comment immediately on seeing the attack on Matic, was to describe it as a ‘vile, vile tackle that could have led to an extremely serious injury.’

This did not take three replays from different angles and a slow-motion replay; it was clear and obvious to me, seated right at the back of the East Stand in the commentary area. The referee was just a few yards away and wait for it, has since claimed to have seen and judged the incident at the time and has left it unpunished. It was such a dangerous and foolish misreading of the situation that I really think, purely on the grounds of safety, you have to question the man’s right to make these judgements.

In the aftermath it wasn’t just Chelsea fans or staff who lined up to vent their fury, pundit after pundit, particularly ex-players were extreme in their condemnation of the referee and of course of the player. My next line of commentary when I realised Barnes hadn’t been sent off, was to explain to the listener that there would be absolutely no doubt that Barnes would be serving a lengthy ban when the footage was reviewed later. I am currently in a state of shock that we now find Nemanja is expected to serve a three-match ban while his assailant is to get off scot free.

The statement and ruling from the FA was beyond belief for someone who has played the game. For a shove to illicit three games and a potentially career-damaging ‘tackle’ to get not so much as a slap on the wrist shows a broken system, or a deliberately warped system, and it also shows a gross unfairness that seems to regularly affect Chelsea more than anyone else.

It is impossible not to think back to the ban meted out to Diego Costa and feel that there is anything other than a deep injustice here. The panel involved looks foolish and indeed incompetent right now, while the authorities have the appearance of specifically treating Chelsea players more harshly than others.

With even top former referees coming out openly and saying it is a ridiculous and wrong outcome, boy it must be obvious. Only a very small number of people have tried to defend the indefensible and most of them have been from the Burnley area. Backing your team and players is natural, even if it is clearly wrong. But this stance can’t really be taken seriously by anyone with even a passing interest in getting to the truth of the situation. I take that sort of argument with a pinch of salt knowing that in their heart of hearts even they probably don’t believe what they are saying themselves.

Sean Dyche also gave his position last night and my reading between the lines is this. He would not have argued had Chelsea been given two penalties, so not a huge defence of the referee there. The kick on Brana he admitted was probably a yellow in his opinion. I don’t agree, I thought red, but he has to back his player and I understand why he defends his player even if I don’t agree.