Mark Clattenburg has backed referee Mike Dean for the two vital decisions he made in the Newcastle United clash against Wolves on Sunday.
The former Premier League referee voiced his opinion regarding the two incidents – one featuring United defender DeAndre Yedlin being sent off and the other including Wolves’ player Willy Boly remaining on the pitch following an alleged elbow – and said that Dean made the right call on both of them.
Clattenburg said that Dean would have recognised how Jamaal Lascelles could not get back in time to cover, meaning Yedlin had to foul Diogo Jota – hence denying him a clear goal scoring opportunity.
“Newcastle fans will feel aggrieved that Mike Dean sent off DeAndre Yedlin and did not punish Wolves’ Willy Boly for an elbow but he got both big calls right,” he said in his Daily Mail column.
“Yedlin could not recover after mis-hitting a pass and pulled down Diogo Jota as he raced towards the penalty area. Dean will have seen that Jamaal Lascelles would not have made it back in time to cover so Yedlin had denied a clear goalscoring opportunity.
“Late in the second half, Boly caught Ayoze Perez in the face with his arm as he jumped for a header. It was not a deliberate attempt to elbow the striker. Boly was jumping naturally for the ball and Dean – who had a clear view of the incident – was right not to punish the defender.”
OPINION
Both incidents in this fixture were deemed controversial, so it is surprising that Dean has got the backing of Clattenburg here. Yes, Newcastle fans would have felt that Boly deserved to be sent off, but they are only feeling that way after seeing one of their own players sent off. Had Yedlin remained on the pitch, then they may not have made such a fuss about the incident. It is not like the opposite decision would have made too much of an impact on the game – Newcastle were down to ten men after all – so some of the fans’ frustrations are arguably invalid. However, he is right to back Dean in sending Yedlin off – he is clearly the last man and Jota had a clear cut chance to score. There is no arguing with an incident like that and everyone opposed to it are essentially wasting their breath – even if it means Yedlin will miss the next couple of games.
