Alexis Mac Allister’s red card seems to have attracted more headlines than Liverpool’s home victory against Bournemouth with most being in agreement that is was a ridiculous decision but not Mike Dean.
Speaking on Sky Sports, the former referee said: “Common sense as a ref, you can’t have that! He’s gone in quite high, there’s not a lot of force in the challenge but he has caught him quite high. It’s probably a lazy leg, doesn’t need to make the challenge, it’s caught him on the shin.
“It’s not a wrong decision, he’s gone in with stoods showing, it’s not a wrong decision, VAR would’ve looked at it, happy with Tom’s decision – game moves on.”
READ MORE: (Video) Gakpo bamboozles Bournemouth midfield with outrageous skill
Seaking in defence of the World Cup winner though, Paul Merson said: “Because it’s slow motion and it hits his shin, when you look at it you go ‘ooh’. I see what Mac Allister was trying to do, he was trying to play a sidefoot pass but the lad was too quick for him.
“Sometimes that we have to understand, sometimes if someone is too quick for someone, he didn’t mean it. I’ve seen people do people, I didn’t think it was. Best move before Mike [Dean] says anything.”
It seems that every time a referee has the chance to defend a current or former colleague, they always jump at the opportunity and it makes it almost pointless to have these ‘experts’ on panels for that reason.
You can possibly understand why the on-field official thought it was a rash tackle but with inclusion of VAR should have resulted in the decision being overturned.
You can watch Merson and Dean’s thoughts on the Mac Allister red card via @SkySportsPL on X:
"Common sense, you can't have that as a ref you should know that!" 🤣
Merse and Mike Dean can't agree on that controversial Mac Callister red card 🟥 pic.twitter.com/Yr1eJ04AAO
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 19, 2023
#Ep85 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: EOTK Insider with Jan Åge Fjørtoft on Wataru Endo🎙️
Nobody mentioned that the ref and also the 2 who were on duty at VAR have a ‘history’ where LFC are concerned…..