Jack Stephens’ red card for Southampton against Chelsea on Wednesday prompted former Premier League referee to revisit what he now recognises as a mistake from his own career
Mike Dean has admitted that he was wrong not to call for Tottenham’s Cristian Romero to be sent off against Chelsea in 2022 after Southampton defender Jack Stephens was dismissed for the same offence.
Dean left the Premier League at the end of the 2021-22 season, however he was on VAR duty for the start of the next season. In August 2022, Spurs defender Romero pulled Chelsea’s Marc Cucurella’s hair, but neither on-field referee Anthony Taylor nor VAR official Dean saw it as a red card.
Cucurella was involved in another such incident on Wednesday, as Chelsea won at Southampton. Stephens’ hair-pull on the Spaniard was missed in real time, but Tony Harrington dismissed him after a VAR review.
Retired ref Dean was a member of Sky Sports’ Soccer Special panel, and he was covering the match live. Fellow panelist Paul Merson pressed the 56-year-old on the distinction between the offenses, compelling him to concede he got it wrong two years ago.
“Unfortunately, I was involved in one of these incidents about three years ago,” Dean told the audience. “I think someone pulled Cucurella’s hair, and I believe Romero did. I didn’t send him off.
“But he’s plainly done it; he ought to be sent off. It’s his second red card this season. It must be a farewell; it cannot be otherwise.”
When pressed further by Merson, he stated: “[Romero was not sent off] because I got it incorrect. And he [Stephens] has been sent off.
Stephens will now face a lengthy spell on the sidelines after picking up a second red card of the season. He was also sent off against Manchester United in September for a foul on Alejandro Garnacho.
Southampton were already 3-1 down when the centre-back clashed with Cucurella against Chelsea, and ended up conceding twice more before full-time. Saints manager Russell Martin tried to look for the positives as his team remains seven points from safety, suggesting they were in the game before Stephens’ dismissal.
“I learned a lot about some people,” Martin explained. “Nathan Wood, James Bree, and Joe Aribo were excellent; they came in after not playing much and performed admirably, and I’m proud of them.
“Some of the football we played at 11 v 11 was fantastic, and we should have led 1-0. We conceded such poor goals, but the response was brilliant, and we were so in the game until a crucial moment [Stephens’ red card] changed everything.”
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