‘I studied the footage again’, ‘this is what happened’, ‘am sorry’ – Mike Dean finally reveals REGRETS on Romero’s hair-pull on Cucurella
When Cristian Romero pulled Marc Cucurella’s hair during Sunday’s fierce Stamford Bridge match, Mike Dean said he later regretted not sending referee Anthony Taylor to his pitch-side monitor.
In the heated 2-2 tie between Chelsea and Tottenham, Dean served as the VAR. Harry Kane headed in an equalizer from a Spurs corner in the 96th minute, only seconds after Romero pulled down Cucurella. Some believe that this incident should have led to Romero receiving a red card for aggressive behavior.
For the first time in Premier League history, an official has come forward after taking part in a match. Dean wrote in his MailPlus column that he didn’t think Romero tugging Cucurella’s hair was aggressive given the few time he got to observe it.
‘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.’
However, Sportsmail columnist Chris Sutton said it was good that an official was willing to speak after being involved in such a big decision.
‘Good on Mike Dean for fronting up,’ Sutton said. ‘It’s refreshing. We see weekly apologies from footballers on social media if they messed up and received a red card.
‘Like the one posted by Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez after his costly head-butt on Crystal Palace’s Joachim Andersen. But we’ve grown accustomed to referees, assistants, VARs staying quiet.’
Taylor came under fire for missing the foul by Romero on Cucurella in real time, with a fan-led petition set up to stop him refereeing Chelsea games.
Had Taylor visited his pitch-side monitor to review the potential red card and dismissed Romero, Chelsea would have also been awarded a free-kick, cancelling out the corner which Tottenham scored from.
After retiring from on-field refereeing at the end of last season, capping more than two decades as a Premier League referee, Dean is now working as a full-time VAR from Stockley Park.