'When the ref came over, I thought I was going to get sent off. I was expecting a yellow card, which would have been a sending off because I got a yellow card in the first half.
'It's a big game, the atmosphere is top class and it looked like a nil-nil, so when you score a goal, especially against one of your old clubs, you can't just put your finger up.
'It just sums the referee up.' Hutchison and his team-mates had more reason for complaint when Gary McAllister tripped the light fantastic from outside the box to earn Liverpool a hotly-disputed penalty - allowing Jari Litmanen to claim his first Liverpool goal.
That McAllister, who yesterday lifted his self-imposed ban on playing for Scotland, convinced Barber Stanislav Varga had clipped him inside the area, simply exposed the shortcomings of the official.
At least Barber, who booked eight players, was blameless when his assistant added to the comedy of errors by ruling out Robbie Fowler's late 'winner' for a dubious offside.
But for all of Sunderland's annoyance over the penalty, manager Reid may want to look at the lack of control creeping into his side's play.
Alex Rae and Michael Gray were sent off recently against Manchester United, while Hutchison and Kevin Phillips now face two-game bans for collecting 10 bookings.
