Mike Dean has clarified his comments about protecting Anthony Taylor from abuse, saying that the friendship aspect has been 'blown completely out of proportion'.
Dean had said on Simon Jordan's 'Up Front' podcast that, while he was a VAR official on the heated Chelsea-Spurs match in April 2022, he did not send referee Taylor to review Cristian Romero's controversial hair pull on Marc Cucurella because he wanted to protect his 'mate' from further ire.
The former Premier League referee has received criticism for that but now insists that the friendship element has overstated, suggesting that 'mate' is merely a substitute term for a fellow official.