Mike Dean has admitted he failed to correct a mistake in a Chelsea v Tottenham match last season to prevent his friend Anthony Taylor receiving extra “grief”.

The former Premier League referee Dean was on VAR duty at Stamford Bridge in August 2022 when Chelsea wanted the Spurs defender Cristian Romero sent off for pulling Marc Cucurella to the floor by his hair. Dean says he made a “really bad call” in not sending Taylor to review his decision.

Why would he do that? And why on earth would he admit it later??