I disagree with what you said [MENTION=21136]Potroh[/MENTION]. Players should respect the authority of the ref. More often than less, games where ref didn't impose his authority, players went ape shit with their tackles and aggression.
Most players do respect the referees.
But they are in a heated up situation on the pitch where the referee's qualities also show, and it's not very easy to refrain from a few heated comments, time to time. It's part of the game.
If protestations are the greatest sin, then good old Suarez should get a red each and every game.
The role of the referee is to judge the situations, according to the book, but also simultaneously defend the physical aspect of the players.
If he is more interested in defending his own authority, the game is simply doomed.
A good and calm referee closes his ears to the comments and concentrates on creating a tranquil mood for the game.
But when he becomes the
star of the show, by bringing his
own authority in the focus, it certainly shows that he is a BAD referee.
Salah was impaled by Ramos in a CL final, actually causing an injury. Nothing has happened, but that decision or the lack of it, may have easily influenced the result. Thus the referee actually influenced the result, which is the first thing he should avoid. Defending his own authority against verbal abuses comes much later in the order.
I think the asshole referee who gave a red to Messi in the last minute of Copa, is sitting back in his home and that will be his lifetime story to tell: "I sent off Messi!". This is what should be avoided, by the good referees concentrating on defending the players and not themselves.