LIVERPOOL'S game against Wolves at Anfield last night highlighted a grey area in penalty box melees and the officiating of the inevitable rough and tumble that takes place inside the 18-yard box.

Reds defender Sortiros Kyrgiakos was dragged to the floor by his shirt when attempting to get on the end of a corner by Wolves' Christophe Berra. Nothing was given by referee Peter Walton.

Sensing his chance to get even, as well as exploiting an obvious loophole in the marking from set-pieces laws, the Greek international then gained his revenge down the other end, virtually yanking his counterpart's shirt off his back as he tried to defend a visiting corner. Soon afterwards he was at it again, although he preferred this time to tug Berra's arm to prevent him from meeting the cross.

Watch any Premier League match this season and you will see that there is nothing out of the ordinary about this practice.

Indeed, the only reason it has been brought to light by Sky Sports on this occasion is that it was an ongoing battle between two players in a televised game.

Time and again referees appear to be staring at similar incidents up and down the country and blanking it from their minds. Either that, or they have merely accepted that this is commonplace in today's game, and see no reason to award a penalty.

The point is, it should not be allowed to go unnoticed and these fouls are often far worse than innocuous trips or handballs that often prompt officials to point to the spot.

In one of the replays of the Kyrgiakos-Berra incidents, Walton can be seen to be looking directly at the offence, but takes no action.

There are those, including Sky pundit John Barnes, that argue that the whistle would be blown all the time if every misdemeanour of that kind was punished, with penalties being awarded left, right and centre.

That may be true, but it will only happen for a few games, and when defenders and managers finally wise up to the crackdown, you will soon find that nobody will feel the need to pull at an opponents' shirt at every opportunity.

If half a dozen penalties in a couple of games is what it takes to go even a small way towards cleaning up the game, then so be it.