MANCHESTER United are a colossus; a behemoth in the footballing realm, ready to trample over all who walk in its path.
The fight between Palace and Manchester United was a battle akin to David and Goliath; only that Goliath had a handy little helper to the side of him, dressed in yellow, ready to give a hand.
The blame for Saturday's result doesn't squarely lie with Jon Moss, but his decision to award a penalty just before half-time, giving United a further helping hand by showing Kagisho Dikgacoi a red card, swayed what was already a tough encounter for Ian Holloway's men right in David Moyes' favour.
Moss had, in fact, had a reasonable game up until the decision came to award the penalty.
You wonder if United's presence – not their fans who, for most of the game were deadly silent – but their league presence, their position in the world game, sometimes affects a referee's decision making.
The reality is that dealing with a complaint from a club the size of Crystal Palace is much easier to handle than a complaint from a club the size of Manchester United.
Had the tackle by Dikgacoi been a penalty, and had Moss not awarded it, there would have been an intense review of the decision, lasting weeks if not months, bringing great embarrassment on the referee and his cohorts as well as the Premier League and the FA.
And while, at the end of the season, a poor decision might be the difference between Palace getting relegated or not, for United it could mean the difference between a title win or not – a difference which would, in the world of mass media, have had far greater consequences with thousands of words referring to that decision by Moss.
It's a tough league to compete in, not just because of the jump in quality but because Palace just aren't important enough for referees, the FA or the league to fight for; because a decision against Palace is easier to defend than one against the league champions and their millions of supporters.
For shame.
