‘Petulant’ Mike Dean rockets to top of worst referee poll after Stamford Bridge meltdown

Mike Dean has left his cards at home….no wait, check that….Mike Dean has completely lost his mind!

The much-maligned referee from Cheshire has taken a provisional lead in our English Premier League Worst Referee Poll following his mental meltdown in Saturday’s heated London Derby at Stamford Bridge.

Dean caught the ire of Arsenal supporters and neutral observers watching on television across the globe after his failure to defuse an out-of-control physical confrontation between Chelsea’s Diego Costa and Gunners’ Laurent Koscielny in the 44^th minute.

It was a complete back-alley mugging in the Arsenal penalty area. Costa could clearly be seen elbowing, punching and slapping Koscielny in the face. Seconds later he delivered a body slam to the defender which knocked him off his feet. But somehow according to Dean’s twisted logic, Costa would remain on the field even though most neutral observers were certain he would be the first to be ejected.

Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger looked on from the sidelines in astonishment as Costa was permitted to stay in the match by Dean, and his team of officials,  who all mysteriously failed to spot the multiple and highly-visible offenses.

“I think it’s unacceptable what he does to Koscielny. He pushes him down, he hits him in the face. I do not understand Mike Dean’s decision at all. Why does Diego Costa stay on the pitch and Gabriel is sent off?�? ~ Arsenal Coach Arsene Wenger.

Unbelievably, after the several minutes of Costa-generated chaos to close out the half, it turned out that Arsenal defender Gabriel would be the only one to be sent off.

After the initial flash point between Costa and Koscielny, Gabriel came to the defense of his teammate and the two opponents began to trade swings and push and shove. Gabriel’s big mistake was backing into Costa moments later and allegedly kicking out or stomping on the feet of his Chelsea opponent, an offense which Dean deemed worthy of a second yellow card and his dismissal from the match.

Chelsea went on to win the match 2-0 with Arsenal being reduced to nine men late in the 79^th minute when Santi Cazorla was sent off for a second yellow card.

Dean clearly missed the boat and seemed unaware of the infamous reputation of the Brazilian striker and his history of initiating physical confrontations both during his time with Chelsea and his former club Atletico Madrid.

“He [Costa] will do the same next week, he is always provoking,�? Wenger told Reuters.

Costa’s reputation precedes him.  In January 2015 he was handed a three-match ban for stamping on Liverpool defender Emre Can.

Costa has also been at the centre of several high-profile suspensions and confrontations in La Liga.

Dean’s reputation also precedes him but does he have an anti-Gunners bias? A previous study by English newspaper, The Daily Mail, found that Arsenal wins just 7 per cent of matches when Dean is in charge.

Dean’s decision to let Costa stay on and reduce Arsenal to ten men, sucked the life out of the highly anticipated London Derby. His decision drew harsh criticism not only from Arsenal fans but numerous football pundits. BBC’s Garth Crooks slammed Dean for his performance calling him a “petulant school teacher�? who “wants to be the star�? all too often.

Dean has also taken a provisional lead in our poll for worst referee (See Below) due to his ineptness and at last count on Sunday had a 21-vote lead over his closest rival Kevin Friend.

RedCardTheRef followers are encouraged to cast their vote for worst referee multiple times throughout the course of the season and share our poll with your friends, family, teammates, pubmates, coworkers, fellow supporters and sane-minded referees.

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