Anyone else think the refs were worse than usual this weekend?

Normally I only see one or two games other than my own team on a weekend, but due to the 'flu, I was home and watched Everton/Man U...Portsmouth/ Stoke...Arsenal/ Sunderland...Man C/Liverpool and Wigan/Spurs. In those five games alone I saw 7 or 8 cards given for the most ridiculous reasons imaginable, along with some pretty terrible decisions and bad (one potentially leg-breaking) tackles go completely unpunished. What is with referees nowadays? No wonder they have to promote a "Respect" campaign for themselves. They are so inconsistent and card-happy it's little wonder they receive the criticism they get.