Wiley ways are perplexing to Pedersen as Rovers share the points with Everton

Never mind the hoo-ha about whether Andy Johnson was correctly ruled offside when he put the ball in the net for the 'goal' that would have maintained Everton's three-point lead over their Mersey rivals.

Morten Gamst Pedersen summed up the collective frustration with Wiley when he approached the referee at the whistle with a quizzical look and arms spread: What on earth had been going on at Ewood?

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"Somebody said I should ring the Guinness Book of Records. I am the only player to have been shown a yellow card for being grabbed by the throat," protested the incredulous Norway winger.

A moot point, as Wiley will argue he was booked for the tackle that prompted Mikel Arteta to lose his cool and spark a melee.

Blackburn team-mate Stephen Reid later denied he had been punched in the face, although it appeared that way from the stand, and Wiley kept his red card in his pocket.

Pedersen said: "If I get a yellow card then surely Arteta should get a red. I knew I was on four yellows so I tried to walk away. I was amazed he booked me."

Blackburn manager Mark Hughes, who loses Pedersen as well as Chris Samba and David Dunn at Arsenal on Saturday, said: "If you raise your hands, my understanding is that it's a straight red. I think he felt Morten clipped his shin and Arteta reacted. He probably should have gone. It was one of the decisions that mystified me."

Earlier Dunn, booked already, had deliberately handled the ball. Crucially, he stayed on the pitch to head off his line from Phil Jagielka.

Johnson, whose reputation is so ingrained he might never win a penalty again, was floored by Zurab Khizanishvili before his hard work appeared to have been rewarded with an 85th-minute decider.

Wrong. With goalkeeper Brad Friedel stranded yards out of his area, the linesman ruled Johnson offside because there were not two Blackburn players between the striker and the goal.

Furious Everton manager David Moyes, who described a meeting this season between his players and officials to explain the nuances of the new law as a 'riot', argued there might have been as many as four.

Wiley declined the chance to clarify that crucial decision and offer a little guidance from above. No wonder nobody understands the rules.