Tuchel reacts to Mike Dean’s statement about VAR decision

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel was displeased with the officiating in the London derby game against Tottenham.

For Tottenham’s second goal, there was a red card scenario, as Cristian Romero pulled Marc Cucurella’s hair.

Surprisingly, the incident which happened in front of referee Anthony Taylor was spotted by the referee, and VAR ref Mike Dean also failed to call the attention of the referee.

After the game, Mike Dean admitted he made a mistake in his decision.

He said in a column on The Mail+: “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.

“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.”

Thomas Tuchel has now responded to the statement by Mike Dean.

Tuchel refused to accept Dean’s explanation, as he maintained that it was a very clear decision.

Tuchel said: “If the mistake is that big and obvious, what’s the point of not admitting? I struggle to be fully impressed by the statement to be honest.

“It’s so clear and obvious, I struggle to see how a referee couldn’t make the right decision.”