EPL: Why I didn’t tell Anthony Taylor to check VAR monitor – Ex-referee Mike Dean

<p>Former Premier League referee, Mike Dean has admitted he failed to correct an on-pitch error because he did not want to cause his close friend, Anthony Taylor “grief”.</p>, <p>The incident happened during Chelsea’s clash against Tottenham at the start of last season.</p>, <p>The game at Stamford Bridge ended 2-2 following a late Spurs equaliser from Harry Kane.</p>, <p>But just before Kane struck, the Blues felt they should have been awarded a penalty after Cristian Romero pulled Marc Cucurella’s hair inside the area.</p>, <p>“I missed the stupid hair pull at Chelsea versus Tottenham which was pathetic from my point of view,” Dean told Up Front with Simon Jordan.</p>, <p>“It’s one of them where if I had my time again, what would I do? I’d send Anthony Taylor to the screen.</p>, <p>“I think I knew if I did send him to the screen … he’s cautioned both managers, he’s had a hell of a game, it’s been such a tough game end to end. I said to Anthony afterwards: ‘I just didn’t want to send you to the screen after what has gone on in the game’.</p>, <p>“I didn’t want to send him up because he is a mate as well as a referee and I think I didn’t want to send him up because I didn’t want any more grief than he already had.</p>, <p>“Anthony, he is big and bald and ugly enough to know if he is going to the screen, he is going to the screen for a reason. If someone pulls their hair now, it’s dead easy. It’s just a brainwave by me, a really bad call by me, and it kind of affected me as VAR going forward.”</p>