IT was about as convincing as George W Bush earnestly telling the world that he believes weapons of mass destruction will still be found in Iraq.

Fair play to referee Howard Webb for facing the media in the wake of controversial rulings prior to both goals on Saturday.

He and his assistants dutifully trooped out insistent they hadn't made any mistakes, then carefully watched replays which to most people proved otherwise and then Webb proceeded to explain himself.

The most controversial ruling was Aston Villa's penalty for a push on Liam Ridgewell from Danny Higginbotham.

On this, replays showed that Webb did at least have a case - unbelievably fussy though it was.

Amid a lot of jostling, Higginbotham did appear to dish out a minor shove.

The lack of reaction from any of the Villa players only showed how slight it was.

It was the sort of minor penalty box infringement frequently given in favour of goalkeepers or defenders, but virtually never for attackers.

Webb said: "A corner kick came over and I saw a clear push from a Southampton player.

"You always expect some contact but that stood out as a clear offence.

"It was an easy decision for me. It was quite clear and an instant one to give."

There were no appeals from the Villa players, while the Southampton players looked totally shocked by the decision.

"It is unusual to have no appeal. That made it harder to sell to the Southampton players," admitted Webb.

"To be fair, the Southampton players behaved in a decent way. They asked the question in a reasonable way."

But if the referee had at least some defence for the penalty, the way he backed up a clear mistake from his assistant leading to Saints' leveller was baffling.

Replays showed Kevin Phillips was around a yard offside, but Webb also defended that decision.

He said: "If there is any element of doubt the benefit goes to the attack.

"We have seen the incident again. We look at the feet and they are pretty much in line.

"I was right. It was a good goal under those circumstances. It is a difficult job to judge."

Webb also turned down two Saints penalty appeals in the second half when Yoann Folly appeared to be bundled over by Ronnie Johnsen and then after Phillips was barged by Ridgewell.

Referees get a lot of unnecessary stick and it was certainly a step in the right direction for one to publicly explain some of his decisions.

But surely the next challenge is to admit it when an honest mistake has been made...