"Your apology is meaningless!" - Ex-Man U player hits back at Mike Dean.

 

Former Manchester United Youth player, Robert William Savage, also known as Robbie Savage, has labelled Mike Dean's 'mistake-admission' in the just concluded Derby between Chelsea and Tottenham as 'meaningless' if Chelsea miss out on Champions League qualification this season. 

Recall Mike Dean had tendered a long note to Chelsea fans, admitting his many errors, including that of Marc Cucurella's hair pull. 

Pundit and Columnist for MirrorUK, Robbie Savage has termed Mike Dean's 'mistake-admission' as meaningless. 

In a column for Mirror, he wrote: 

"Mike Dean's admission that he was wrong to let Cristian Romero get away with pulling Marc Cucurella's hair is meaningless and it won't retrieve the two points it cost Chelsea.

"Let's not sugar-coat it. In the long run, if Chelsea finish fifth, and miss out on the Champions League by a point, ultimately that decision could cost them tens of millions of pounds. Over the course of a season, there will be other incidents where they may feel aggrieved. But they won't make this one any easier to swallow.

"I liked Dean as a referee and I thought he was one of our best officials on the pitch, a good character as well as a fair man applying the laws of football. But as a VAR, his job is to make the RIGHT decisions, right here and right now – not to admit he made a big mistake in a newspaper column four days later.

"With respect, I have to ask: At the time of Romero's offence, which was clear as day to everyone watching replays on TV, did Dean know that pulling an opponent's hair – not a common offence - constitutes violent conduct and a straight red card?"

Robbie Savage went on to recall an incident where Ronaldo was sent off for pulling an opponent's hair four years ago:

"There was a high-profile precedent – Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off four years ago, on his Champions League debut for Juventus, after pulling Valencia defender Jeison Murrillo's hair at the Mestalla. What on earth was Dean watching on his screen at Stockley Park when play was paused, all too briefly, with Chelsea leading 2-1 in stoppage time at Stamford Bridge last Sunday?

"Surely he should have advised referee Anthony Taylor to go and review the incident on pitchside monitor. Surely Taylor would have reached the same conclusion as everyone else – that Romero should be sent off. And surely Chelsea would have gone on to win the game."

Robbie Savage concluded: "On the whole, VAR has been good for the game because the incidents where it has been used to ensure justice is done have far outweighed the mistakes. But if we are going to use multi-million pounds worth of technology, it's essential that the people watching those screens use it correctly.

"VAR is supposed to correct clear and obvious errors, not allow clear and violent conduct flourish."

Robbie Savage in the Manchester United Youth team.

Robbie Savage is a Welsh former professional footballer, who played as a midfielder, now a football pundit and director of football at Northern Premier League division one West club, Macclesfield. He began his football career playing for Manchester United's Youth team in 1991 and went on to make over 600 appearances for Derby County, Blackburn Rovers, Birmingham City, Leicester City, Crew Alexandra and Brighton and Hove Albion.  

Robbie Savage on BT Sport [ image via Getty images]

Whether or not his biography is important, of course, it's quite interesting to see a non-Chelsea man speak up against a wrong act done to the club. Robbie Savage no doubt, spoke the minds of all Chelsea fans. Maximum respect for his undiluted thoughts!