DERMOT Gallagher has got to be about the unluckiest man in football this week.

While it was correct to question his judgement in not sending off Leeds United's Robbie Keane for his outrageous reaction to David Beckham's bad tackle at Old Trafford on Saturday, he would be justified in wondering 'Why me?'

Demoted and publicly flayed in the media for his error, the Oxfordshire official has had to bite the bullet but why was he the only one to suffer?

Hindsight is an exact science, and one aided in football by the ubiquitous cameras at ever Premiership ground these days.

However, the conclusions drawn from the viewing of the footage of controversial moments are still being used in a subjective manner.

Manchester United's clash with Leeds was the game under the spotlight this weekend and it might just be that was why Gallagher suffered.

But, while the referee is lambasted no one else involved in the incident had their sentence converted.

Should Keane's yellow card be treated as a red one when it comes to suspension?

And should Beckham be punished more harshly for the premeditated foul that prompted the Republic of Ireland striker's outrageous reaction?

And if trial by video is to be the method by which referees are to be judged then why isn't Kent's Steve Bennett in the dock?

The Derby clash with Chelsea saw Blues defender Marcel Desailly and the Rams' Fabrizio Ravanelli trade insults before getting involved in an unseemly face pushing contest.

If the rules that were applied to Gallagher are to hold firm then Bennett should also be demoted.

In fact Bennett has less of a defence.

Gallagher was dealing with a one-off reaction to a challenge, while the Desailly-Ravanelli feud was bubbling all game long and the Kent official should have been well aware what the outcome might be.

And in turn the yellow cards handed out to the Frenchman and Italian should be converted into ones of a more scarlet hue when it comes to bans.

Quite simply if hindsight is going to be used then it should be employed with consistency.

If the football authorities feel that they had to have professional referees to improve standards then as employers they should be duty bound to treat their employees in a fair and even-handed manner.

At the moment every instance is dealt with in isolation and every ruling seems to be a knee-jerk reaction based on how much infamy the initially controversy gained in the media.

As an employee one should be well aware of the punishment that awaits should you err in your duties and also be assured that the same fate awaits colleagues who similarly fail -- I am sure Dermot Gallagher would agree.