Mike Dean has claimed that Liverpool’s clash against Crystal Palace was “perfectly officiated” on Monday night.
The Reds were held to a 1-1 draw by the Eagles in a match filled with drama at Anfield. Wilfried Zaha opened the scoring for the visitors before Luis Diaz equalised with a solo effort in the second half.
Paul Tierney was the referee for the match. He was left with the decision to send off Darwin Nunez on his home debut after Liverpool's big summer signing headbutted Palace defender Joachim Andersen. While Nunez could have had no complaints, Reds fans were left frustrated by other aspects of Tierney's performance.
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Dean was on VAR duty at Stockley Park last weekend, after retiring from refereeing at the end of last season. He was in front of the screen for Chelsea’s dramatic draw with Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
An incident with Cristian Romero and Marc Cucurella was the focus of attention - and Dean admitted he made a mistake on the day. As a result, he will not be on VAR duty for this weekend's round of Premier League matches.
And he has now spoken about the game at Stamford Bridge as well as referencing Liverpool’s draw with Palace.
“In the few seconds I had to study Romero pulling Cucurella’s hair, I didn't deem it a violent act,” Dean wrote in a column for the Daily Mail . “I’ve since studied the footage, spoken to other referees and, upon reflection, I should have asked (Anthony) 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. It’s disappointing for me as this was one incident in an otherwise very good weekend from our officials. Decisions are debated – that’s the life of a referee.
“There were some perfectly officiated games elsewhere, like Liverpool against Crystal Palace on Monday night which capped a great weekend of Premier League football.”
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