Mike Dean enrages US pundits after Kurt Zouma goal for West Ham United vs Bournemouth
Kurt Zouma’s goal for West Ham against Bournemouth being allowed to stand was an “absolute joke”, according to Robbie Earle.
The Hammers beat the Cherries 2-0 at the London Stadium, to lift themselves into the top half of the Premier League, but the opening goal just before half-time infuriated Earle and fellow pundit Danny Higginbotham as VAR dismissed a potential Thilo Kehrer handball.
Said Benrahma added a second from the penalty spot, for a handball which was awarded by video assistant Mike Dean in second half stoppage time, but it was the former referee’s earlier involvement that had the pair steaming in the studio.
Speaking at half time on the USA Network coverage of the match on Monday night (24 October, 8.50pm) Earle first said: “Any rule that allows this goal to stand is an absolute joke. That’s as clear a handball as you’re ever going to see.”
Higginbotham started assessing the merits of the the VAR’s decision to allow the goal and said: “It’s deliberate handball… it’s not ball to hand, it’s hand to ball.”
An outraged Earle went on: “Somehow VAR have decided that this goal can stand and that cannot be right.”
And things had worsened by full time when Higginbotham said of the decision (9.50pm): “Neither West Ham or Bournemouth are teams that I support but I’ve found myself getting really angry with it.”
Earle is clearly not a fan of the man who made the decision and felt it spoke for itself when he named Dean and summed up with: “I’ll let that rest there.”
Off you pop
Even West Ham fans will be feeling fairly fortunate to get away with that one, as it looked a pretty clear handball whichever way you look at it, although definitely deliberate is perhaps a bit far.
The Hammers appear to have benefited from the technicality that the ball was headed away by a defender immediately after being coming straight back via Tomas Soucek and flicked in by Zouma.
But Irons supporters will justifiably point to some nightmare VAR decisions that they have been on the receiving end of already this season that still need balancing out, including last week at Southampton.
Dean is never one to be far from the limelight even if he is no longer out on the pitch, and some of his decisions as the video assistant this season have ensured that.
Even in this game he quite possibly should have got involved to suggest David Coote sent off Jefferson Lerma when he was already on a booking but decided to leave him to it on that occasion, much to the amazement of Martin Tyler and Efan Ekoku.
Gary O’Neil was only slightly angrier than Higginbotham was as he remonstrated with the referee at the end of each half, but opposite number David Moyes ultimately got the result he wanted, and having finally climbed out of the bottom half will be hoping not to look back.