The independent chairman of the Football Association Lord Triesman has praised referee Steve Bennett for showing "the bottle" to send off Javier Mascherano on Sunday.

Triesman supported Bennett, whose decision to show the Liverpool midfielder a second yellow card for dissent against Manchester United has caused plenty of debate, with the Argentina international and Reds boss Rafael Benitez questioning the dismissal.

Chelsea defender Ashley Cole brought the issue to light earlier this month when he was involved in a prolonged show of petulance against Mike Riley, but on that occasion the player was not sent off.

Triesman is a keen supporter of the FA's newly announced initiative to foster a culture of respect for officials in the sport and he believes more referees need to replicate Bennett by punishing players who fail to uphold those standards.

He told the Daily Mail: "I thought he had done what I would like to feel referees will do - which is to have the bottle to do what is necessary.

"I'm not going to prejudge the issue because there may be hearings here, and I'm not going to cloud the process, but in my view it's the beginning of referees saying they are part of the equation.

"They have to use the powers they have. You can have the campaign, try to work with parents, devise new rules, but someone has to do it in the middle of the field."

Triesman echoed the sentiments of former England boss Sir Bobby Robson, who yesterday criticised the conduct of modern players when compared to their predecessors.

"I think we've gone through a period when, in my view, culturally the game has degraded.

"I have a sense we're at a tipping point. If you lose the scrupulous fairness of a Bobby Moore you potentially lose it for a very long time."

(reopens) The FA's director of football development, Sir Trevor Brooking, stressed that the £200million grassroots initiative set up by the FA, which has respect as its central theme, resonated throughout the country.

And the West Ham legend hinted the professional game could look to formally incorporate some of the same ideas next term.

"We'll try and get something in place next season that the professional game can buy into, you need that," he told BBC Radio Five Live.

"We launched that (grassroots scheme) and then had a couple of high-profile incidents that proved we need it.

"We all accept something has to be done."