Last weekend's controversial VAR error has been a hot topic all week, with Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp wanting the game replayed
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Paul Merson has laid into former Premier League referee Mike Dean, amid a heated discussion over the VAR controversy of last weekend's game between Tottenham and Liverpool.
The Reds had what would have been the opening goal wrongly ruled out for offside as they lost 2-1 at Spurs, with manager Jurgen Klopp later calling for the match to be replayed.
And the discussion has rumbled on into the new Premier League weekend, with Merson and Dean engaging in an intense war of words on Sky Sports' Soccer Saturday.
Mike Dean retired from on-field refereeing at the end of the 2021/22 campaign, then spent last season as a VAR official (Image credit: Getty Images)
Speculating about reforms which could be made to refereeing, Dean said: "The way forward: do you get ex players in? For me, no, because I just don't think...half of them don't know the laws of the game full stop as you can tell by what you [Merson] said about restarting games for the sake of it."
An annoyed Merson responded: "'For the sake of it'? 'For the sake of it'? What do you mean 'for the sake of it'? You're playing Liverpool against Tottenham, one of the biggest games and you're saying 'for the sake of it'."
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The ex-Arsenal and England midfielder went on to take a dig at Dean for not having been a player himself. He continued:
"There's no law. No one is going to die so stop the game. You're all scared. You're all like, 'Oh my god, I'm going to get in trouble'. Stop the game. Stop the game and then look at the circumstances.
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"Seriously, it's typical you have not played the game. Because you know the rules, it's different."
Tom Hancock started freelancing for FourFourTwo in April 2019 and has also written for the Premier League and Opta Analyst, among others. He supports Wycombe Wanderers and has a soft spot for Wealdstone. A self-confessed statto, he has been known to watch football with a spreadsheet (or several) open...
