Ex-PGMOL chief: Mike Dean got it totally wrong on major Man United vs Sunderland incident
Sunderland’s unbeaten run is over after a defeat to Manchester United on Saturday.
Sunderland lost 2-0 to Man United at Old Trafford in a spirited effort, although they will be disappointed with the result after their amazing start, with Robin Roefs shining yet again with an excellent performance in goal.
However, the defeat was shrouded in controversy, with Sunderland being denied multiple penalty appeals after going 2-0 down.
Bertrand Traore was denied a penalty for a foul by Senne Lammens in the second half, but the most controversy came from an incident in the first half.
Mike Dean defends decision to rule out first-half Sunderland penalty
Sunderland were adamant they were robbed of a penalty in the first half, after Stuart Attwell awarded a spot-kick against Benjamin Sesko for a high foot on Trai Hume.
However, Neil Davies on VAR sent Attwell to the monitor, and the penalty was ruled out, with the Premier League explaining that the decision was overturned because there was no contact involved.
Mike Dean was analysing the refereeing decisions at Old Trafford, and defended the decision to overturn the penalty.
On Soccer Saturday, Dean said: “The issue I have, we have referees as VAR and assistant refs as AVARs. For some unknown reason at Old Trafford, we have the opposite. It should always be a referee as a full-time VAR. There’s no contact; he shouldn’t have been sent to the screen. It’s correct, 100%.”
However, Keith Hackett has exclusively told Mackem News that he believes Dean’s explanation was wrong, and that a penalty should have been awarded to the Black Cats.
Hackett said: “Just listened to Mike Dean’s explanation. There does not have to be contact for a foul to be awarded. A high boot close to the head of his opponent is reckless.
“The laws of the game state that for a reckless challenge, you sanction with a yellow card. That is the interpretation of referee Attwell. The decision by the referee is not a clear and obvious error.
“Therefore, VAR should not have intervened. The penalty kick and yellow card should have been the sanction issued.”
Sunderland can feel aggrieved with shambolic refereeing performance
Sunderland were never truly expected to go to any of the grounds of the Big Six and get a victory, and the fact that some expected a win at Old Trafford just proves how far the Black Cats have come.
However, they can feel majorly aggrieved by the performance of the refereeing team during the defeat to United, as they have been robbed of two blatant penalties.
The Black Cats are going to face these kinds of refereeing issues throughout the campaign, and therefore cannot let it negatively affect their heads.
Sunderland have been brilliant all season, but now the bigger tests are set to arrive on Wearside, and it will be a true test of their survival credentials.
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