Referee Howard Webb was the recipient of widespread ire from Liverpool fans following Sunday's FA Cup exit at Old Trafford, as two of his decisions — to award Dimitar Berbatov an early, soft penalty and to send Steven Gerrard off controversially — were major factors in the Reds' loss to their bitterest rivals, Manchester United.
Ryan Babel, who came on as a substitute in the match, was particularly upset with Webb and lashed out on Twitter by posting a picture of the referee in a United jersey.
Babel wrote "And they call him one of the best referees? That's a joke. SMH" (SMH means shaking my head).
Babel was echoed by Kenny Dalglish, who called the penalty "a joke." Dalglish's son, Paul, also tweeted barbs at Webb.
"Howard Webb MBE. Manc of the Busby Era. I am not normally bitter, as you know, but it is different rules against them. … Fergie has his puppet Howard Webb on a piece of string," he said.
According to the Guardian, the FA is investigating the Babel tweet.
See the image below.
