Former Premier League referee Mike Dean has issued a bizarre explanation for Manchester United’s penalty incident against Arsenal on Sunday evening.
Manchester United controlled much of the game against Arsenal but ultimately slipped to defeat when Riccardo Calafiori rose to head in the decisive goal.
Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha were United’s standout performers, with the latter denied what appeared to be a clear penalty — another example of the questionable officiating that has marred the start of the season.
The controversy didn’t end there. Arsenal’s winning goal also raised eyebrows, with William Saliba seemingly backing into Altay Bayındır while holding onto the goalkeeper’s arm.
Even so, Bayındır will feel he should have dealt with the situation more convincingly and that was something Ruben Amorim echoed after the match.
Mike Dean’s bizarre explanation for United penalty call vs Arsenal
While there was plenty of attention on the Arsenal goal and the controversy surrounding that, it was the foul on Cunha inside the box which simply stunned fans.
Saliba attempted to play the ball but only got the foot of Cunha, who went down, and VAR waved it away so quickly.
During the game, ex-Premier League referee Mike Dean attempted to explain why the foul was not looked at by the VAR but he just confused fans further.
The ex-referee said that the contact from Saliba was fine as it was ‘foot on foot contact’.
Supporters have been left confused by this comment, as what Dean describes is quite literally a foul all of the time in the Premier League.
Expert analysis from the referees, as always
For those who pay so much for Sky Sports, it is simply wonderful that you get to hear such expert analysis from Dean and his colleagues.
Former officials being on television and simply defending any decision possible from the on-field officials has been one of the most boring changes made on these platforms in recent years.
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There is never any actual analysis or genuine explanations coming from them. They just want to defend their mates when they make obvious mistakes.
Three days into the new Premier League campaign and we have already seen plenty of terrible decisions from those in charge, and no one is confident that they will improve.
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