Former Premier League referee Mike Dean stated a reference to fellow official Anthony Taylor as a “mate” had been “blown out of context”, days after saying he didn’t alert Taylor to a referring mistake final season to spare him “more grief”.
Dean, 55, was the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) throughout a fiery 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge final August when Tottenham Hotspur defender Cristian Romero pulled Chelsea’s Marc Cucurella to the bottom by his hair at a nook.
The foul was not given by on-field referee Taylor, and Spurs scored a last-gasp equaliser throughout the ensuing play.
Dean stated later he didn’t need to ship Taylor to the VAR display to view the incident as he was a “mate” and wished to spare him “more grief”.
In an announcement on Friday, the referees’ physique, the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), stated it refuted any suggestion VAR officers don’t intervene once they spot an apparent error.
“It has all been blown out of context. Referring to him as a mate, you have got to look at it in context,” Dean instructed Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday, referring to Taylor.
“You might not like some guys in your refereeing group, but when you get a game on the weekend, there are four of you in the middle, a VAR and an AVR. Those six people are your mates for the day. The mate thing has been blown all out of proportion.”
Dean, who refereed greater than 550 matches within the prime flight and have become a full-time VAR official final season, was taken off VAR obligation for 2 months after the match.
In July, the PGMOL stated Dean was stepping down from the position and leaving the referees’ organisation.
“I want to support the referee as much as I can, and that’s what you do as a VAR. Yes, I was wrong and I should have sent him to the screen,” Dean, who acknowledged his mistake on the time of the incident, added.
“It was wrong, and I paid the price. I didn’t have a game for three weeks after that. The buck stops with me. He’s not my best mate; we are just mates on the day.”
“Anthony shouldn’t get any grief, it’s me that should get the grief, and I have had the grief. I got the grief when it first happened 15 months ago. It’s my fault. I apologised last year to the whole group.”
