Blackburn Rovers defender Ryan Nelsen is fed-up with the refereeing this season.

"Referees are massively under pressure at the moment, and I'm not blaming them," the Rovers skipper, who is one of only two Premier League players to have been sent off twice this season, told the Lancashire Evening Telegraph.

"I think it's so hard for them now because they're under the microscope, and I feel really sorry for them, because they've been put in this position where they have to give them (bookings), so they are backed into a corner as well.

"I can understand people wanting to clean up the game, and they want to provide an image where bad tackles don't happen.

"They want a nice, clean image because footballers are meant to be role models.

"But it's a professional game, and a professional sport, and there's a massive amount on the line, so players are going to play with passion.

"In a few years' time, they are going to have to find a balance because, at the moment, it's starting to get a bit silly."