Howard Webb: Pawson should be stripped of reffing Liverpool-City

Craig Pawson's officiating has come under the spotlight once again after his presiding over Saturday's 2-2 draw between Stoke City and Leicester City drew furious protests from the latter's manager, Claudio Ranieri, and his players.

The referee gave Jamie Vardy his marching orders on 28 minutes when he put in a crunching tackle on Mame Biram Diouf, and that incident, coupled with five further yellow cards for the Foxes before the break, saw the usually affable Ranieri have to be restrained while passionately confronting Pawson at half-time.

Related - Look: Vardy sent off for 2-footed lunge on Stoke's Diouf

Former Premier League referee Howard Webb, a member of the Professional Game Match Officials Board, believes that Pawson's slated gig as being the man in the middle for Liverpool's visit from Manchester City on New Year's Eve should now be reviewed.

"I don't think he should be on that game, not after the performance he gave on Wednesday night," Webb said on BT Sport. "We're accountable, we make mistakes, we influence the outcome of games, and we should pay the price."

Pawson's previous outing was Manchester United's midweek 2-1 win at Crystal Palace, when he failed to brandish a red card to Marcos Rojo when he performed a dangerous, two-footed lunge on Wilfried Zaha.

Overall, Ranieri can be pleased with his ranks' comeback from a 2-0 deficit despite being a man down courtesy of goals from Leonardo Ulloa and Daniel Amartey, but explained his grievance with Pawson post-match.

"I was angry at the referee because I saw my players fight and there were so many yellow cards, but it was a normal battle in the Premier League," Ranieri told BBC Sport.

Leicester next faces Everton at the King Power Stadium on Boxing Day.