Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel says he was “not impressed” by Mike Dean admitting he made a mistake in their 2-2 draw against Tottenham Hotspur.
VAR official Dean allowed the match to go on after Cristian Romero pulled Marc Cucurella’s hair and Harry Kane equalised for Spurs seconds later.
He said he should have told referee Anthony Taylor to check the pitchside monitor.
“A mistake that big and obvious the whole world sees it,” Tuchel said.
“I struggle to be fully impressed by the statement. It’s so clear and obvious, I cannot understand how a referee cannot make the right decision,” he added.
Tuchel and Spurs boss Antonio Conte were both sent off at full-time following an angry confrontation on the touchline and have both since been charged by the FA.
But Tuchel said he and his counterpart were able to laugh it off and there were no hard feelings after the match.
“Of course we laugh, it’s very important to laugh and laugh at ourselves,” he said.
“I was laughing in the dressing room; it was the heat of the match and we didn’t insult each other.
“I think the thing would have ended if there were not 20 people around us that make the thing look much worse than it actually was.
“It was passion between two men who fought for their team and I hope they don’t make more of it. He was fighting for his team, I was fighting for my team. I have nothing but the biggest respect for him,” Tuchel added.
Chelsea will travel to Leeds on Sunday without midfielder N’Golo Kante who has a hamstring injury that Tuchel said is “quite serious”.
“We’re talking about weeks, it’s not good news, it’s disappointing and sad because he’s super important.”
Mateo Kovacic is also out with a knee problem while Armando Broja and Christian Pulisic, who has been linked with Manchester United this week, are also doubts.
Chelsea have completed the signing of 19-year-old midfielder Cesare Casadei from Inter on a six-year deal and have also been linked with former Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who worked with Tuchel at Borussia Dortmund.
