Mike Dean has admitted he got the decision wrong to not send Anthony Taylor to the pitch-side monitor to review Cristian Romero pulling Marc Cucurella down by the hair during Chelsea’s 2-2 draw against Tottenham.
Thomas Tuchel’s side were denied all three points against their London rivals in the 96th minute when Harry Kane netted past Edouard Mendy to grab a stoppage time equaliser at Stamford Bridge.
The Chelsea head coach, as with the rest of his players, was furious with the decision to allow the goal after Cucurella went down in the box moments before following a tug of the hair from Romero which sent him to the floor.
Taylor decided it wasn’t a foul and then Dean looked at it on VAR and deemed the tug not violent conduct, and with him unable to award a foul, play resumed and Spurs went on to silence the Bridge.
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Tuchel was not pleased post-match after getting sent off for a touchline scuffle with the Spurs bench, and was subsequently charged.
Now Dean has come out and admitted he got the decision wrong and that he should have asked Taylor to visit the pitch-side screen.
In a column for the Mail, he wrote: “As for the second goal by Harry Kane, I asked referee Anthony Taylor to wait while I looked at the incident involving Tottenham’s Cristian Romero and Chelsea’s Marc Cucurella.
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“I could not award a free-kick as VAR, but I could recommend to Taylor that he visit the referee review area to consider a possible red card. In the few seconds I had to study Romero pulling Cucurella’s hair, I didn't deem it a violent act.
“I’ve since studied the footage, spoken to other referees and, upon reflection, I should have asked Taylor to visit his pitch-side monitor to take a look for himself.
“The referee on field always has the final say. It goes to show that no matter how experienced you are, and I’ve spent more than two decades as a Premier League official, you are always learning.
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“It’s disappointing for me as this was one incident in an otherwise very good weekend from our officials.”
He also commented on Spurs' first equaliser when Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg scored from outside the area. Kai Havertz was fouled in the build up, while some claimed Richarlison, who was in an offside position, blocked the sighting of Edouard Mendy.
Dean added: "This one was relatively straightforward. I can’t go back 44 seconds to look at Rodrigo Bentancur's potential foul on Kai Havertz. It is outside the attacking phase of play – the Tottenham player got a toe to the ball anyway – so that wasn’t a factor in whether Hojbjerg’s goal should stand.
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"The question was whether Richarlison was interfering from an offside position.
"When Hojbjerg’s shot was struck, Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy had a view of the ball for me. His line of vision wasn’t clearly blocked, so it was onside and 1-1."
Dean hasn't been given a game this weekend for matchday three following his error.
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Premier League, Mike Dean, Football
