Dean to referee Man City v Chelsea
- adamhigginsuk
- Sep 15, 2014
- 2 min read
REFEREE Mike Dean will take charge of Sunday’s heavyweight clash between Premier League champions Manchester City and current leaders Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium.
It is the 46-year-old’s first match involving Chelsea since being sarcastically “congratulated” by Blues boss Jose Mourinho after their 2-1 defeat by Sunderland at Stamford Bridge in April.
He will be assisted by John Brooks (Leicestershire) and Stuart Burt (Northamptonshire) while Phil Dowd (Staffordshire) - who was the referee when the sides met in the FA Cup last term - will be the fourth official.
Wirral-based Dean has previous experience of this particular league fixture having refereed it twice before.
He took charge of last season’s corresponding encounter in February when Chelsea inflicted a first home league defeat on City with a deserved 1-0 victory, handing out six yellow cards.
The former Fifa whistler also oversaw City’s 2-1 win in March 2012 during their title-winning campaign, awarding the hosts a second-half penalty following a handball by Blues midfielder Michael Essien.
Dean has officiated five games in all competitions so far this season, four of which have come in the Premier League.
After taking control of Bradford’s League One win over Coventry, he was at the helm for Manchester United’s opening day defeat by Swansea, Newcastle’s goalless draw at Aston Villa, Southampton’s win at West Ham and the stalemate between Crystal Palace and Burnley last weekend.
Dean has brandished 19 yellow cards and one red card - to Newcastle defender Mike Williamson for two bookable offences - as well as awarding two penalties.
The experienced official, who has been a regular in the Premier League since 2000, took charge of 38 matches in all competitions last term.
Dean incurred the wrath of Mourinho after the home defeat to the Black Cats in the latter stages of last season following his award of a spotkick to the visitors and subsequent dismissal of Blues assistant coach Rui Faria to the stands.
Following the match, Mourinho spoke of Dean: “I think his performance was unbelievable and I think when referees have unbelievable performances, I think it’s fair that as managers we give them praise.
“So, fantastic performance. He came here with one objective. To make a fantastic performance. And he did that.”
Dean, who is often considered for the so-called “big games”, last crossed paths with City in their 1-1 Premier League draw at Arsenal at the end of March.
With five points separating the two sides, Chelsea have a 100% winning record after four games while City have won two, drawn one and lost one so far.
The 16:00 BST kick-off on 21 September will be screened live on Sky Sports 1 and 1HD in the second part of their promotional Super Sunday programme.
Last updated: 15 September 2014 19:34pm
Comments