Mike Dean has sparked outrage by admitting he failed to intervene on a major VAR call during a Premier League clash between Chelsea and Tottenham last season - because he didn’t want to cause his friend Anthony Taylor any ‘grief’.

The retired referee, who stepped down from his position as a dedicated VAR at the end of last season, admits he made the “pathetic” call during the closing stages of last August’s 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge.

Spurs defender Cristian Romero pulled Marc Cucurella’s hair but, to the surprise of everybody, his actions went unpunished. Dean, on VAR duty that day, decided against asking Taylor to consider a sending off offence by reviewing the incident on the pitch-side monitor.

The decision not to punish the foul meant Tottenham were awarded another corner. Harry Kane then scored a 96th-minute equaliser.

Speaking after the game, Cucarella said: “For me it is clear. In this moment, I don't know what happened." Chelsea’s then-manager Thomas Tuchel commented: “We have people at VAR who check this. How can this not be a free-kick and how can it not be a red card? How?” You can watch the incident below:

What has Mike Dean said about the incident?

Speaking to Up Front with Simon Jordan, per The Telegraph, Dean said: “I missed the stupid hair pull at Chelsea versus Tottenham which was pathetic from my point of view.

“It’s one of them where if I had my time again, what would I do? I’d send Anthony [Taylor] to the screen. I think I knew if I did send him to the screen … he’s cautioned both managers, he’s had a hell of a game, it’s been such a tough game end to end.

“I said to Anthony afterwards: ‘I just didn’t want to send you to the screen after what has gone on in the game’. I didn’t want to send him up because he is a mate as well as a referee and I think I didn’t want to send him up because I didn’t want any more grief than he already had.

“Anthony, he is big and bald and ugly enough to know if he is going to the screen he is going to the screen for a reason. If someone pulls their hair now it’s dead easy. It’s just a brainwave by me, a really bad call by me, and it kind of affected me as VAR going forward.”

Dean, who was subsequently stood down from the next round of Premier League matches, added: “Probably I missed a few games because you get taken out of the limelight.

“That was a major error. If they don’t score from the corner it is not as big an issue. But I knew full well then I would be stood down the week after. I asked to take a bit of time off because it wasn’t for me.

“I used to get in the car on a Friday and was dreading Saturday. I was thinking, ‘I hope nothing happens’. I used to be petrified sitting in the chair.”

Reaction on social media

Needless to say, many football fans are up in arms after reading Dean’s incredibly candid admission. Some have expressed their belief that Dean’s comments prove the current VAR system isn’t fit for purpose.

One fan wrote: "That Mike Dean admission cost Chelsea 3 points… But it also gave Tuchel a two-game ban, which led to Chelsea’s results fading, which led to him being sacked. That one corrupt incident had a MASSIVE impact on world football. So much could’ve been different…"

Meanwhile, Darren Lewis, president of the Sports Journalists’ Association, tweeted on Friday morning: “Ironically, Mike Dean has inadvertently hurt Taylor & Premier League referees still working with these remarks more than he would have done had he simply sent his colleague to the screen. Appears to confirm many fans’ fear - that *some* VARS support mates’ incorrect calls for fear of publicly undermining them.”