Mike Dean reacts to Everton v Southampton controversy live on Sky Sports

Sat 2 November 2024 16:58, UK

Mike Dean has backed the decision to give Jan Bednarek a yellow card as Southampton beat Everton 1-0 in the Premier League.

The Poland international was booked after dragging down Beto on November 2, with VAR backing that decision despite the Portuguese striker entering the final third.

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Moments after that contentious decision, Adam Armstrong pounced to hand the home side all three points on the south coast.

Speaking live on Sky Sports after the incident [2 November, 16:37], Dean instantly reacted to the controversy at St Mary’s.

“At first glance, I went straight away yellow card,” he said.

“Looking at another angle, it’s a fifty-fifty call, so with it being a fifty-fifty call, referee’s call all day. There is too much doubt involved, so a yellow card is the right decision.”

Once again, it was another afternoon where everyone was left scratching their heads.

With the red card waved away against Beto, he then went on to what everyone thought was an incredible equaliser after a long ball from Jordan Pickford.

With VAR taking forever to check the goal too, it was eventually disallowed for offside in a game which looked like it would never end positively for the Toffees.

Everton forward Beto [Credit: Imago]

Sean Dyche will not be happy, but it will be the fans feeling the exact same about what his side produced with his tactics, which didn’t look great against Fulham, and even worse this time around.

The likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin have been nothing short of shocking, and Beto will be pushing for a start now, with Beto doing more in a handful of minutes in recent weeks.

Red card and goal waved away by VAR, it means nothing when you play like this against a previously winless side in more than two months.

In other Everton news, Alan Myers has issued an update on the club spending “big money” in the January transfer window.