MARK Hughes, the Southampton manager, doesn’t have the nickname ‘Sparky’ for nothing and after their game against Watford, he pronounced referee Simon Hooper, as ‘not up to standard’.

Charlie Austin, whose ‘goal’ was disallowed, has seen his post-match interview put to music and become an internet sensation.

What is it that caused this eruption in the Southampton camp?

Austin thought he had scored the winning goal, only for it to be ruled offside.

If you’ve seen the replay on television you will know when Austin took his kick, Southampton’s Maya Yoshida, was standing well offside inside the Watford penalty area.

Yoshida claimed after the match ‘the referee said I was offside but I was miles from the ball’.

This is not actually true.

Looking at the camera angle, straight down the pitch, he was well within the sight-line of the goalkeeper.

Many people think that apart from blocking the goalkeeper’s view, to be given offside a player has to touch the ball or challenge an opponent for the ball.

However, recent changes in interpretation means a player can be given offside without either of these things happening.

One of these says that involved in active play can be by ‘clearly attempting to play the ball, which is close, when this action impacts on an opponent’.

For example, if the ball is crossed into the penalty area and an offside player jumps to head the ball but fails and the ball goes into the goal, he can be given offside because his action has made the goalkeeper’s unsure of what action he should take.

This wasn’t the case in the Southampton match as Yoshida actually backed away from the flight of the ball, but another new interpretation says offside can be given for ‘making an obvious action which clearly impacts on the ability of an opponent to play the ball’.

Did Yoshida’s offside movement take the goalkeeper’s eyes off the ball for a second or two, delaying his dive for the ball?

Not quite the easy decision for Simon Hooper that Southampton claim.