Ian Wright slams Mike Dean for ‘disturbing arrogance’ in VAR debate with Paul Merson

Arsenal legend Ian Wright has slammed former referee Mike Dean for his ‘disturbing arrogance’ after his heated debate with Paul Merson over former players being involved in VAR decisions.

With VAR dominating the news agenda once again after Luis Diaz’s goal was incorrectly ruled out for offside in Liverpool’s defeat to Tottenham last month, Merson and Dean clashed during a segment on Soccer Saturday debating whether ex-pros should be involved in the decision-making process.

Dean dismissed the idea, insisting ‘half of former players don’t know the laws of the game full stop’. That remark infuriated Merson who accused officials of being ‘scared’ of making decisions for fear ‘they might get in trouble.’

Mike Dean’s Arrogance

The row was discussed on the latest episode of Wrighty’s House with Wright taking exception to Dean’s attitude during the fiery exchange.

The former striker said: ‘Listening to Mike Dean with that rant with Merse, listening to him saying “the rules are the rules so just abide by the rules”.

‘Then you see Michael Oliver today [after opting not to send off Mateo Kovacic against Arsenal], we saw two bookable offences, you’re booked for the first one and you leave the second one because… you don’t want to upset [people]?

‘This is why, the arrogance of Mike Dean in that little confrontation with Merse, really made me feel like this is why we are having so much problems, because they won’t listen to people.

‘I can hear what Merse is saying, about the common sense aspect. And he [Dean] is saying “this is why, judging on what you just said there, you can’t have footballers in there.” His arrogance is f*****g disturbing for me.’

VAR Decisions Under Scrutiny

VAR decisions were under the spotlight the following day when Mateo Kovacic avoided being shown a red card by Michael Oliver in Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Manchester City after two heavy challenges on Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice.

PGMOL chief Howard Webb admitted on Monday night the Croatian was ‘extremely fortunate’ to stay on the pitch.

‘He [Oliver] doesn’t want to have a negative impact on the game by overreacting to something and sometimes players will be on a yellow card and they’ll be pressure to show a second one. Pressure will come from the players from the field.

‘But it’s also true if you under react it can have a negative impact on the game, so I think when he reflects on it he’ll realise the second one should have been a yellow card as well. It should have been Kovacic sent off for two yellow cards.’

Conclusion

The debate around VAR and its use in football continues to rage on and it appears that Mike Dean’s attitude towards former players has not gone down well with Ian Wright. It remains to be seen if any changes will be made to the system or if football fans will just have to accept that these decisions are part of the game.

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