Peter Walton has revealed a former Liverpool player was the hardest player he ever had to referee, in an exclusive interview with Football FanCast.
Walton names Liverpool forward as most difficult player to referee
These days, the Premier League are trying to crack down on dissent towards referees, having reduced the threshold for a yellow card in the case of disrespect towards an official, but it is unclear how much of an impact the rule change is having.
The match between AFC Bournemouth and Chelsea earlier this season set a Premier League record, as 14 players were shown a yellow card in the encounter, with Anthony Taylor clamping down on dissent, while both managers were also booked.
That said, some would argue the move is a step in the right direction, given the abuse referees receive both on the pitch and online, with the social media era amplifying the issue to a much greater extent.
General view of the corner flag inside Anfield before the match Related
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The Reds are now in the race to sign a "world-class" striker, having made the first move towards getting a deal done.
Sir Alex Ferguson is perhaps the most famous example of a manager who wasn't afraid to clash with the officials in the pre-social media era, with Graham Poll once admitting he was scared to give decisions against Manchester United.
"When I travelled to Old Trafford, I was well aware of the ‘Fergie factor’. If I gave a ‘soft’ decision against them or did not add enough time on, then I knew he would let me know, in no uncertain times, that I had erred."
Now, Walton, who refereed in the Premier League from 2003 to 2012, has told Football FanCast the player he found it most difficult to referee, revealing former Liverpool player Craig Bellamy gave him the most issues.
"Craig Bellamy at Liverpool was always the guy. I will reiterate Craig is a nice guy off the field but on the field he was a demon. He was such a hard guy to referee."
Liverpool's Craig Bellamy celebrates winning the Carling Cup
Walton also revealed John Terry was a bit of a nightmare for a different reason.
"John Terry was, again, a nice man but he would always befriend you and you had to question why he was befriending you. Does he want me to feel comfortable with him or give him the benefit of the doubt? Some captains were quite good at their job. Terry led the Chelsea team very very well. He nurtured relationships with referees to give them that 1% difference."
Bellamy's off-field antics at Liverpool
It is little surprise Bellamy was tough to referee on the field, given some of his actions off it during his time with the Reds, most famously attacking teammate John Arne Riise with a golf club before a crucial match against Barcelona in the Champions League.
Days later, however, both Riise and Bellamy would go on to score at the Camp Nou to secure a 2-1 away victory, with the incident seemingly having little effect on team morale.
The Welshman maintained a decent record in front of goal across two spells on Merseyside, picking up 18 goals and 13 assists in 79 games, and signing off with a Carling Cup final victory against hometown club Cardiff City in his final season.
These days, the former Liverpool man is the manager of Wales, and they have been faring well since he took the helm in July last year, topping their UEFA Nations League B group and without a defeat under his guidance.