• Premier League

Pulis blasts referee Dean's performance

Soccernet staff
March 21, 2010
Stoke lost 2-1 at home to Tottenham on Saturday © Getty Images
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Stoke boss Tony Pulis blasted referee Mike Dean for sending off Dean Whitehead and revealed he had attempted to have the referee changed last week.

Pulis said he was not happy that Dean would be officiating his side again after what he deemed to be poor performances in earlier games against Portsmouth and Hull this season.

"I rang Mike Riley on Wednesday and told him my concerns about Mike Dean," Pulis said. "I was just seeing if we could change the referee because we weren't happy.

"He made a bad decision down at Portsmouth and I wanted to see if we could at least avoid him until the end of the season. We sent a letter and followed it up in the right and proper manner.

"I just thought it (the sending-off) was a very, very poor decision. We've had him earlier in the season and he's made poor decisions and we compiled stats on him.''

Pulis' complaint was backed up by Redknapp, who described the red card as "a bit harsh.'' Redknapp added: "I thought a last warning might have been fair enough.''

Pulis paid tribute to the way his side kept pushing forward despite conceding Gudjohnsen's opener then seeing Whitehead dismissed four minutes later.

"It was disappointing that within four minutes we had conceded a goal and had a player sent off. It's always an uphill battle but the lads kept going and created more chances.''

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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