MARK HALSEY: It is great to see Newcastle's Jonas Gutierrez back after winning his own cancer battle

I saw that the Argentine star played for the Magpies Under-21s against West Ham on Monday after coming through chemotherapy and returning to training. And as someone who got back in the game after battling cancer, I know exactly what he’ll be going through right now.

Unless you’ve experienced it – and touch wood you don’t – you won’t realise what a huge toll all the weeks and months of treatments take on your body.

I had chemo and radiotherapy and I was told that the poisons that were being put in there can damage your internal organs. They certainly affected my fitness and a lot of people didn’t rate my chances of getting back and officiating at the top level at all.

Jonas is 31 years old, so he’s got a few years on me at 52 when I got back into refereeing.

He has done very well to come back in such a short space of time. I understand he had an operation back in September and then went through his course of treatment – so to be back playing at this point is a really quick turnaround, I’ll bet he’s well ahead of schedule.

I’m sure he doesn’t need me to tell him that to regain full fitness as a player will be very difficult for him. I just hope he and the people around him understand it’ll be a slow process and it won’t happen overnight.

Playing for the development squad is a very different thing than the Premier League but it’s an important step for him, and just being involved on a matchday again will be such a good boost for his confidence.

Bizarrely, when you get back to the stage where people know you are going out on the pitch, it carries an extra bit of pressure too.

People know what you have been through and they question whether you can really return to the same level as you were before.

That can act as a motivational tool for you but you have to appreciate it’s also said for a reason. It’s really, really hard to get back in condition after going through all that.

I just wanted to get back down to business and carry on as before. But realistically it is a lot, lot harder to get back to that stage.

Looking back now, it was the reason I had to call it a day. It had taken its toll on my body and I felt with all the other things going on behind the scenes as a top level official, it was the right time to step down.

Looking at Jonas’s case, I am sure he can continue his career at the top level for a good while yet.

I know he’s a very popular player up there in the North East and if he needs a little pick-me-up, then St James’s Park is one of those places that can lift you. The atmosphere is incredible.

I’m sure he appreciates there is a lot of hard work to come and that his fight isn’t completely over yet but I wish Jonas the very, very best.

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MATCH officials have been told they have missed a total of 16 red cards already this season in the Premier League.

The news was broken at a meeting at St George’s Park in early December.

By missing, I mean they chose to issue a caution or nothing at all, but what does it really do for the referee’s confidence levels?

They are instructed to manage games, judge each situation on its merits, and yet in the next breath they are being told they are missing things. Confusion reigns again.

I’ve said before, I don’t think referees really know what a yellow card is any more.

Look at Lee Mason at Aston Villa at the weekend. How did he end up issuing a red card to Gabby Agbonlahor?

The challenge he made on Ashley Young was 50-50 at best. In fact, if anything, I think Young was more in the wrong.

But Lee had got himself on the wrong side of the incident. He didn’t have a good view and I think there was an element of guesswork.

He reached for his red card straight away but if he’d just given himself a few seconds, replayed the incident through his head and taken a breath, he might have come to a different decision.

The way the crowd and players behave would have played a part as well. Sometimes you can find yourself responding to the reaction rather than keeping your focus.

I wasn't surprised that red card was rescinded yesterday.

Lee hasn’t had a great time of late. He got himself in the wrong position last week when Cheikh Tiote karate kicked Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez then called a penalty but failed to take action against Paul Dummett and possible sending off on Danny Wellbeck, and disallowed a goal that should have stood.

The evaluation of that game would have highlighted his mistakes and it affects your confidence, which is just as important in refereeing as it is when you’re a player.

If I could give any advice to Lee or any other referee out there at the moment, I’d say not to read too much into your evaluations. Don’t let them affect your judgement.

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I’M noticing a worrying trend in the Premier League at the moment, and I think it’s only a matter of time before someone gets hurt.

Referees have got a responsibility to protect players but I feel like their identification of careless, reckless or using excessive force is not consistent enough.

Anthony Taylor managed the North East derby between Newcastle United and Sunderland very well but I think he could have enhanced his reputation by sending off Fabricio Coloccini just before half time.

No-one could have complained if he had issued a red card for his challenge on Steven Fletcher.

Michael Oliver handled the Arsenal-Liverpool game very well too.

I think Fabio Borini can have no complaints at his red card. His first caution was dissent by action, no problem, but his second could very easily have been a straight red for a chest-high tackle on Santi Cazorla.

I think Matthieu Flamini was a little lucky in the first half too. He was on a yellow card and could have easily been given a second for reckless use of the arm.

Michael will believe he managed the situation, looked at the bigger picture and it’s fair enough. But it does demonstrate the inconsistencies in the game at times.

Meanwhile, it looks like being a lonely Christmas for Chris Foy, who won’t be on Premier League duty on Boxing Day.

It isn’t a complete surprise. Swansea are still really unhappy the red card he gave Lukas Fabianski against West Ham was somehow upheld, and then the less said about the game he had the week before between Chelsea and Hull, the better.

Mark Clattenburg has been badly utilised again this Christmas. He’s got West Brom on Boxing Day, then Shrewsbury Town against Wycombe Wanderers – but heaven knows why.

I’ve nothing against lower league clubs getting top refs, and this is a top-of-the-table clash. But shouldn’t this be an opportunity for an up-and-coming young referee who the Football League want to elevate up the pyramid – a chance to really see what he’s got?

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I’M really encouraged to see Wanderers mean business these days – and I think it would be a great deal to get Emile Heskey on board.

I worked with Emile in Qatar over the summer at the World Cup and he was talking at the time about wanting to come back and play for a club in the Championship.

He was looking fit, mean and lean and it was clear he still had that hunger in him to carry on his footballing career.

I think he can do a good job for Bolton and teach the younger players a few tricks or two about playing at the very top level.

I see Eidur Gudjohnsen made his first start back at Bolton the other night at Millwall, and his experience will be vital if Neil Lennon’s side are going to carry on climbing the table.

I think he’ll only get better for Wanderers. He’s a real class act.

It was great to see the team get another win – it certainly seems like a completely different club than it was a few months ago and I think they can look towards the New Year with a lot of optimism.

All that’s left to do is wish all the readers of The Bolton News a very happy Christmas.