Paul Merson is the latest pundit and former footballer to slam the refereeing team consisting of Mike Dean and Anthony Taylor for the decisions made during Chelsea vs Tottenham and has claimed they both weren't 'good enough' ahead of Leeds.
The pair came under severe criticism for their decision-making during the second half of Thomas Tuchel vs Antonio Conte. Kai Havertz, Marc Cucurella and Cristian Romero were all involved in the controversial moments but it was the Lilywhites who had the rub of the green on the day. Many footballers and former referees have come out to already criticise and condemn both Taylor and Dean for their decision-making during such a big fixture but the now-retired referee broke his silence in a stunning statement that was released only on Thursday via the Daily Mail. Yet despite the explanation, Chelsea supporters still continue to demand that Taylor isn't to be the referee for their games this season with their petition.
Dean wrote: "I’ve now had time to reflect on Sunday’s clash at Stamford Bridge. I was VAR at Stockley Park and in the days after that 2-2 draw between Chelsea and Tottenham, we had meetings as part of our regular camps to discuss what happened in that and other matches. Like how players analyse their performances, we speak about the incidents we were involved in." Dean did go on to explain his decision-making for not giving the Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg goal as offside and his mistake regarding the Cucurella-Romero incident but some fans are not falling for these apologies/explanations.
READ MORE: Former Premier League star slams Anthony Taylor for Richarlison call during Chelsea vs Tottenham
Dean has been left out for the upcoming gameweek 3 fixtures but Taylor has been given West Ham vs Brighton. It's short reprieve for Blues supporters not to see either appointed for their trip up to Yorkshire but there will be more times this season whereby one or both will be selected for a big top six fixture involving the Blues.
Merson, who was highly critical just like Thomas Tuchel of VAR and the refereeing teams, has offered a potential solution to deal with the issue of poor use of the technology being used and operated in England.
"Finally, the refereeing in the London derby last weekend simply wasn't good enough," he said in his latest Sportskeeda column. "A million ex-Premier League footballers are not working at the moment - put them in the VAR office! I know referees are trained to do their jobs, but they haven't played the game and have been guilty of making several wrong decisions over the years.
"How can you let hair-pulling go because it isn't specifically condemned in the rule book? There isn't a rule that says you can't shoot someone on the football pitch, but that doesn't mean it's allowed?"
Chelsea fans - would putting former footballers in the VAR office solve the immediate issues with poor refereeing and decision-making on and off the pitch? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!
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