Referee acknowledges mistake that cost Chelsea big time in latest encounter

Mike Dean acknowledges mistake of his decision on the Cucurella-Romero hair-pull incident

As per his column in the Daily Mail (h/t Football.London), VAR referee in the Chelsea-Tottenham Hotspur game Mike Dean acknowledges his mistake of not sending on-field referee Anthony Taylor over the monitor to have done another look at the incident involving Christian Romero pulling Marc Cucurella’s hair.

This incident took place in the dying embers of the game just before a Spurs corner, at a time when Chelsea were leading in the game by two goals to one. Eventually, no punishment was given to Romero for his cheap hair pull on Cucurella, and the corner was swung in for Harry Kane to equalise. It could have been a different story had Romero been sent off before the set-piece was taken.

Blues manager Thomas Tuchel, who had his fair share of altercations with the Tottenham manager Antonio Conte just after the final whistle, was not happy with the decision. The German could not understand how a player is pulling his opponent’s hair and no punishment is deemed to be the plausible outcome.

Speaking about the incident in his column, here’s what Dean had to say:

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 pitchside monitor to take a look for himself. The referee onside always has the final say.

While this acknowledgment will not give Chelsea their two points back, it is refreshing to see a referee accepting that he made a mistake regarding a decision that may have had a direct impact on a team losing a goal or two points.

In general, referees are a protected entity at the top level, in spite of their fair share of mistakes in big games. Mistakes and being given protection are acceptable because if the latter is not happening, the lives of these referees and their families could be at risk.

However, the quality of refereeing in the Premier League has not been good for some time now. Even Dean, who is now retired from on-field duty, has had shockers in his time. So, some sort of accountability and retribution (be it financially) for blunders made could eradicate the possibility of it happening at a higher frequency.

More Chelsea News:

• Chelsea know they have beaten Manchester United in pursuit of Frenkie de Jong
• Chelsea star Marc Cucurella gives his verdict on snubbing Manchester City
• Newcastle United are interested in negotiating for four Chelsea stars this summer

Moving on, Chelsea are set to face Leeds United at Elland Road for their next Premier League assignment. They are set to be without Tuchel on the touchline after he was sent off for his handshake altercation with Conte.