The Football Association gets lots of criticism for its disciplinary processes and refereeing standards, but one of the best things it has done is speed up the wheels of justice at the top end of the game, writes John Payne.

While referee Martin Atkinson missed Liverpool player Martin Skrtel’s studs end up in David de Gea’s shins in the 2-1 defeat to Manchester United the weekend before last, the TV cameras showed it all too clearly.

A charge was brought, a panel of three referees each deemed it a red card, Skrtel was given time to make a fairly strange denial and the FA issued the appropriate three-match ban, all within 72 hours of the incident taking place.

Skrtel may not appreciate it, but immediate justice has been done and he knows he’ll be free to play on April 18.

Compare that to the treatment of Kingstonian’s Rob Tolfrey after his confrontation with a Bognor Regis fan following a match way back on February 23.

It may have been the Isthmian League rather than the Premier League, but footage of Tolfrey jumping into the crowd could be viewed on YouTube that night and was on the website of local and national newspapers alike the following day.

Even allowing for the fact the Premier League will always take precedence, it seems ridiculous a charge of misconduct has only finally been issued this week – one which the 27-year-old goalkeeper has admitted by the way – and is still to announce the date of his hearing.

Tolfrey feels there are some mitigating circumstances, but quite what has taken the FA so long when the 300,000 viewers on YouTube could see pretty clearly what took place, is hard to fathom quite why the FA’s “investigations” have taken so long.

For Tolfrey, and Ks, there is the increasing likelihood that any ban could now come at the most inconvenient time for manager Tommy Williams’ hopes of securing a place in the play-offs.

There is enough money in football for it to be unacceptable there is one rule for the rich and one for the rest.