Mike Dean refused to send wrong decision to VAR as referee ‘is a mate’
Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for free Sign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter Sign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Former Premier League referee Mike Dean said he decided not to alert a fellow official to a missed call via the VAR system during last season’s fiery match between Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur because the referee “is a mate” and he wanted to spare him “more grief”. Dean, 55, was the Video Assistant Referee during a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge last August when Spurs’ Cristian Romero pulled Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella to the ground by his hair at a corner. “I didn’t want to send him up because he is a mate as well as a referee and I think I didn’t want to send him up because I didn’t want any more grief than he already had.” Dean, who refereed more than 550 matches in the top flight and became a full-time VAR official last season, was taken off VAR duty for two months after the controversial match. I asked to take a bit of time off because it wasn’t for me.” The former whistler said the VAR role left him “dreading” matchdays.
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