The competence, or lack thereof, of top league referees has long been a bone of contention of mine.

I keep telling myself: ‘Give them a break. It’s a thankless task they’ve got and they’re doing their best.’ And then someone like Lee Probert and his assistant come along and reminds me just why I’ve got such a problem with our game’s officials.

Mr Probert missed as blatant a handball as you are likely to see from Chelsea’s Didier Drogba during the Premier League title favourites’ 1-0 win over Bolton in midweek. His assistant then incredibly claimed, with much gusto, that John Terry had diverted the ball away from an opponent in the box with his chest, despite his arm appearing to take the full force of the impact.

It would be fascinating to see the pair’s reaction to identical incidents at the opposite end of the field, with 40,000 fans screeching for a penalty and the prospect of seeing out the rest of the game putting up with a stream of bile from the stands if they fail to point to the spot.

Who can blame them, one may say. Well, I’m afraid I can, and will. It comes with the territory. As a referee, you are never going to be able to please everybody. Even when you get a decision spot on there will be those from the opposition and their fans that will argue it was wrong. That’s the job, they knew the deal when they picked up the whistle and, while abuse of officials can never be condoned, it’s always been a part of football.

The men in black, far from being football’s galaxy defenders, appear to have been zapped by an ability eraser, let alone one of those memory-wipers Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones arm themselves with in the hit films.

Common sense has gone out the window, pressure from managers and the stands grips them like a vice and, most worryingly of all, they just don’t seem to understand the game.

Those errors committed by Mr Probert and his linesman are far from isolated incidents. We see them week in, week out in the Premier League, and it’s not always the result of the pressure cooker getting too much for them; sometimes it’s just down to incompetence. Just the other week, in one of the biggest games of the season, Mike Dean remarkably waved away Chelsea’s appeals for a penalty when Manchester United’s Gary Neville assaulted Nicolas Anelka inside the area with a flying shoulder barge.

The problem extends to the rest of the officials, too. In the same game the linesman, when perfectly placed, incredibly kept his flag down when Drogba was played through on goal to score the Blues’ second goal, despite the fact that he was all of two yards offside.

To top it all off, Dean and the other lino failed to see that Federico Macheda effectively punched the ball into the net for United’s consolation goal late on.

The problem has become a deep malaise in football’s top league. Of course, there are wrong decisions that can be excused; clever dives that appear stonewall fouls to the naked eye, for example.

But these referees are paid – and are now full-time professionals – to get the big decisions right. Inevitably, there will be one or two that slip through the net, but this has become a weekly, nay, daily problem. As we all know, such is the cut-throat nature of the professional game, that each decision carries potentially monumental consequences for players, managers and clubs.

We, or more specifically, the Football Association, owe it to everyone involved in the game to provide the best possible equipment for those precious 90 minutes every week. That includes the officials. And, quite frankly, they are just not up to the job.

Perhaps the training isn’t good enough. Maybe the people charged with marshalling our beautiful game just aren’t up to scratch.

A major overhaul is clearly required.

For starters, Keith Hackett, the general manager of Professional Game Match Officials Ltd – the referees’ governing body – needs to welcome some former professional footballers on to his panel to help the men in black understand some of the game’s intricacies that you just won’t grasp unless you have played yourself. Some of these ‘fouls’ that are awarded truly beggar belief. It is the players who can provide valuable insight into what is really a foul and what are commonplace incidents that warrant nothing but an extension of the arms to signal for play to continue.

Some, most notably Sir Alex Ferguson, has even dared question the fitness of referees, with particular reference to Alan Wiley in recent months. If they aren't fit enough, then they won't be able to keep up with the play and get themselves into the positions to make the right calls. However, I don't think this is the issue at all. While many look as if they are carrying a few extra pounds, it is to the referees' credit that they often are able to keep up with the game. So, if that's not the problem, then it, quite simply, is a poor level of judgement and ability to evaluate a situation and reach the correct decision.

Nothing can replicate the sort of atmosphere and pressure that a Saturday afternoon at Old Trafford can produce, but the right training can at least prepare officials for such occasions.

It may seem that I'm being quite harsh on these referees but I'm actually quite sympathetic to their cause. As a qualified FA referee I have taken charge of my fair share of matches and, even at grass roots level, you are forced to deal with abuse from the touchline and even those on the pitch. But it is your job to shut it out, remain impartial, and get those big calls right. I'm not saying I was perfect, far from it in fact, but then I wasn't dedicating my professional life to the job, working hard to iron out those imperfections and get to grips with the working environment.

Many young referees are dissuaded from pursuing officiating as a career because of the abuse that flies their way on the weekend. Perhaps stricter guidelines for parents and coaches need to be put in place in order to protect these youngsters and help them gain the qualification they need to take that next step.

Nevertheless, the fact is you need a thick skin and a bold character to shut outside distractions out and make the decision based entirely on its merits. That's what we're striving for. We don't have it at the top level of our game at present, but it's what we badly need if we are to really even the playing field and improve the standard of officiating to match what happens on the pitch.