The season is barely two weeks old and Manchester United's manager Ole Gunner Solskjaer has already taken aim at the standard of Premier League referees.
The Norwegian was unhappy that referee Craig Pawson failed to punish Southampton for the nature of their play at times, claiming if it continues his players should 'prepare for a few injuries.'
Unusual with both clubs massive rivals, Solskjaer was quick to support Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp's concerns the previous day that the refereeing he witnessed at Anfield during his team's 2-0 victory over Burnley reminded him of '10-15 years ago' and advised fans during his interview with BT Sport to 'go and watch wrestling' if they liked that sort of physical action.
Well, Solskjaer didn't exactly use Pawson's performance as an excuse for United dropping two points at St. Mary's but he did say the rules seem to have gone 'from one extreme to the other', highlighting Jack Stephens challenge on Bruno Fernandes in the build-up to Che Adams opening goal for the Saints as an example.
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"I'm not worried but we have to look at it because we can't go from one extreme of volleyball or basketball from last year and go into rugby now. I like the more lenient way, it's more men's football. It's a foul (Stephens on Fernandes). He goes straight through Bruno, his hip and with his armpit and his arm across him."
United went on to score an equaliser early in the second half thanks to Mason Greenwood. It was the first time Southampton fans were able to pack out their stadium and Solskjaer pointed to their teams aggressive style for the reason the crowd were up for it.
"You can see early on with the fans as well, it gets the crowd going when you fly into a few tackles and we did suffer a few tackles. That was part of their thinking early on if you like."
Lineker has been quick to react on Twitter, speaking for the masses who became disillusioned last season with the micromanaged rules and VAR introduction.
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Tweeting directly to a BBC Sport link on Twitter, Lineker said Solskjaer was wrong and that referees have been right to take feedback on board to make the game a more entertaining spectacle for fans.
