Mike Dean offers brutal verdict on referee after Man Utd vs Wolves controversy

16 August 2023 , 08:37

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Mike Dean has had his say on the controversy in Man Utd's win over Wolves

Mike Dean has made it clear he won't go easy when assessing refereeing decisions from his former Premier League colleagues after the late controversy in Man Utd's win against Wolves on Monday.

Erik ten Hag's side held on for a 1-0 win despite the visitors feeling Andre Onana had fouled substitute Sasa Kalajdzic. Wolves boss Gary O'Neil was booked in the aftermath of the incident, but said PGMOL referees’ officer Jon Moss later apologised to him in an apparent admission that the officials at Old Trafford got it wrong.

Neither on-field referee Simon Hooper nor VAR official Michael Salisbury considered the offence worthy of a spot-kick. Both have been taken off this weekend's Premier League list, along with VAR assistant Richard West, and Dean says his new punditry role means he won't be going easy on officials.

Dean served as a VAR advisor last season, after two decades officiating in the English top flight. His punditry responsibilities with Sky Sports means he feels he has to be honest, though, and he has made this clear to those currently working in the Premier League.

“I’ve had a chat with a few of the referees and made it clear that if they make a bad decision, I won’t be sitting on the fence or defending the indefensible and they were OK with that,” Dean told the PA news agency.

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“I want to be able to do the job properly and give proper insight. Equally, I’ll be happy to highlight good decisions as it will be good to give refs some credit.”

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Wolves were denied a late penalty against Man Utd (Paul Currie/Colorsport/REX/Shutterstock)

He also shed light on why he left the VAR role after just one year, saying: “It didn’t take long for me to realise that being on VAR wasn’t for me. Having to travel down to London to then be stuck in a room, telling on-field referees whether their decisions were right or wrong didn’t give me the same enjoyment."

Wolves boss O'Neil, who was taking charge of his first game after replacing Julen Lopetegui, pulled no punches in his assessment of the Onana incident. "I thought live it was a penalty, it looked like the keeper almost took our strikers head off. It looks the same now. I think it is a foul," he said.

"If you go for the ball and clatter into the attacking player, it has to be a foul. I am not overly surprised that we didn't get it. When he came towards us, I thought he might be going over to the screen but he was booking me and not Onana for smashing our player.

"I understand it but I don't accept it fully. The on-field referee, it is a difficult decision for them. We can't just leave it because they said no. If we all think it is a penalty, and a lot of people have said it is a stonewall penalty, I am disappointed."

Tom Victor