Chelsea vs Tottenham: Mike Dean breaks silence on Cucurella hair pull

A controversial VAR decision saw Tottenham clinch a last-minute equaliser in the London derby.

Mike Dean has admitted his mistake over Cristian Romero’s foul on Marc Cucurella in the last minute of Chelsea’s 2-2 draw against Tottenham.

The Tottenham defender hauled Cucurella to the ground before Harry Kane made it 2-2 for the guests with a header.

The replay clearly showed Romero pulling the Chelsea defender’s hair. But, Dean, who was the game’s VAR referee, didn’t tell Anthony Taylor to review the incident on the pitch-side monitor.

What has Dean said?

Writing for Mail+, Dean took full responsibility for the mistake.

“As for the second goal by Harry Kane, I asked referee Anthony Taylor to wait while I looked at the incident involving Tottenham’s Cristian Romero and Chelsea’s Marc Cucurella,” he wrote.

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“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 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.”