Refs must not ruin the art of tackling, insists Lampard

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The midfielder backed Martin Atkinson's decision to send off Peter Crouch during Chelsea's 2-0 Carling Cup win against Liverpool, but claimed the recent clampdown on two-footed challenges has left players baffled.

A rash of red cards have been shown in recent games for bad tackles but Emmanuel Eboue's lunge at John Terry on Sunday brought only a booking.

The Chelsea defender's right foot was broken in three places by it and he has accused the Arsenal player of setting out to foul him. Team-mate Lampard is now calling for greater consistency and an improved understanding of the physical side of the game.

He said: "Some tackles are more clear cut than others and I hope they do not take the strong tackle out of the game because we do not want that at all. The players do not know where they stand. It is difficult for refs. They have been given directives and in our 100mph game they can get it slightly wrong."

Terry is still seething about the Eboue tackle on him. "I felt Eboue left his studs in there and it should have been a sending-off," he said.

The clash follows two other high-profile incidents. Referee Steve Bennett came under fire for not dismissing Aston Villa's Craig Gardner or a challenge on Sunderland's Dwight Yorke. And Bennett also failed to send off Steed Malbranque for a two-footed tackle on Vedran Corluka during Tottenham's victory over Manchester City but red-carded Didier Zokora for a less rugged challenge.