Manchester United teammates Michael Owen and Rio Ferdinand have debated the potential introduction of video technology in football following the controversial dismissal of Queens Park Rangers captain Joey Barton.

Owen showed his backing to the former Newcastle United midfielder after he was hit with a straight red card for clashing heads with Norwich City's Bradley Johnson in Rangers' 2-1 defeat to the Canaries yesterday.

"Barton sending off looked harsh," Owen wrote on Twitter. "More calls for video technology. I'd have to agree. No point only introducing it for ball crossing the line."

Ferdinand disagreed with the Red Devils striker and believes that controversial refereeing decisions "adds to the game".

The defender replied on Twitter: "@themichaelowen leave it to the human eye, human error throws up debate+more talking points, keeps it interesting too. Evens out over a yr!

"A big [percent] of the media sports stories/debates revolve around referees decisions....adds to the game for me."

Barton tweeted after the game yesterday that the match official were "conned" by Norwich.