It should be straightforward - footballer misbehaves, referee shows red card, footballer serves ban.

It never is, of course.

Inevitably the player's manager says the card was harsh, adding that several opposition players did equally evil things without getting so much as a ticking off from the ref.

The opposition players say the offender should have been sent off earlier, while the player himself remains tight-lipped.

Then the club of the offending player appeal against the decision - sometimes it is downgraded to a mere yellow, more often it is not.

But there is a curious quirk in the system, which means errant footballers could be better off getting themselves a straight red card rather than two yellows.

Last weekend's action summed up the situation perfectly.

On Sunday, Patrick Vieira also earned a red card this time for picking up two yellows against Chelsea.

Arsene Wenger led a chorus of protests saying that Vieira's second booking in particular was harsh.

But unlike Wright-Phillips. Vieira and Arsenal have no recourse to appeal because he picked up two yellow cards.

Speaking to BBC Radio Five Live, referees' chief Phillip Don said allowing appeals against yellow cards would set an impractical precedent.

"Where does it end? Are you appealing the first yellow card or the second yellow card that got the player off?" he said.

"It's just not practical to appeal every card issued by the referee."

There is a silver lining for Vieira, in that two yellow cards in a match carry an automatic one-match ban - unlike the mandatory three matches for a straight red.

Even so, the Frenchman is likely to feel the situation lacks a certain appeal.