YOU KILLED US!
Bilic rages at ref Dean over red card Pundits slam ‘arrogant’ official’s performance
SLAVEN BILIC accused referee Mike Dean of ruining the match by wrongly sending off Sofiane Feghouli during West Ham’s 2-0 defeat by Manchester United. Dean (inset) showed Feghouli a straight red card in the 15th minute for a challenge on Phil Jones that West Ham’s manager did not believe even warranted a booking. Bilic instead claimed Jones should have been shown the red card. ‘It was the key decision and it killed us,’ said the Croat. Bilic was backed up by Sky pundits Gary Neville and Alan Smith, who accused Dean of ‘arrogance’. ‘ It’s almost like he wants to be the centre
of attention, he seems to revel in it,’ said Smith. Bilic insisted that the red card should have gone the other way. ‘It was Jones who made a more dangerous tackle than Feghouli. Jones makes a scissor, he got the ball but it was dangerous. It’s definitely not a red card. I wouldn’t even be happy with a yellow.’ Dean was close to the challenge when it occurred. Feghouli lost control of the ball and leapt in with one foot out when he met Jones’s flying tackle. Bilic indicated that West Ham will appeal against the sending-off. The officials were also at fault for United’s second goal — which followed Juan Mata’s opener — as Zlatan Ibrahimovic was clearly offside when the ball dropped to him to score. ‘When the players are sprinting it is hard for the referees,’ said Bilic. ‘But the players were walking, they should spot this.’ Sky’s Niall Quinn said: ‘He’s made a disgracefully wrong decision in my opinion. Feghouli doesn’t go studs high to do Jones — although it doesn’t help seeing Jones doing three rolls on the ground. ‘Mike Dean never seems to give players the benefit of the doubt. He gave himself time to look round and still gave the red.’ United boss Jose Mourinho said he could not comment on the referee’s decisions because he had not watched the TV replays. But he talked up United’s chances of catching leaders Chelsea, who are 10 points ahead of them, after his side’s 13th unbeaten game. ‘Between Chelsea and Tottenham, somebody will lose, or both lose two points. Step by step we try to win our matches.’