Man Utd travel to Arsenal next weekend.placeholder image
Man Utd travel to Arsenal next weekend. | Getty Images
Mike Dean ruled that a Manchester United star should have been shown a straight red against Manchester City.
Manchester United defender Diogo Dalot should not be eligible to face Arsenal, Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur over the coming weeks, according to former Premier League referee Mike Dean.
The Red Devils picked up a head-turning 2-0 win over bitter rivals Manchester City on Saturday in a first league outing since parting ways with head coach Ruben Amorim. The three points moved Manchester United up to fifth in the Premier League by the time the 3 pm kick-offs had concluded.
Manchester United are now unbeaten in their last five league outings ahead of taking on three London teams on the trot. Arsenal host the Red Devils at the Emirates Stadium next Sunday afternoon.
Manchester United star escapes red card against Manchester City
Fulham then travel to Old Trafford at the start of February before Tottenham Hotspur make the trip up north on February 7. Manchester United are perhaps lucky to have Dalot available for those matches.
Just 10 minutes into the win over Manchester City, the defender challenged Jeremy Doku and caught him high up on the right leg with his studs up. Doku hit the deck in pain but referee Anthony Taylor only brandished a yellow card for the challenge.
Diogo Dalot is shown a yellow card against Manchester City.placeholder image
Diogo Dalot is shown a yellow card against Manchester City. | Getty Images
VAR did check the tackle but decided not to overturn the original decision, much to the shock of pundits. A statement from the Premier League Match Centre read: “The referee’s call of yellow card to Dalot for a reckless challenge was checked and confirmed by VAR – with the contact deemed to be glancing and not with excessive force.”
On Sky Sports, Daniel Sturridge and Micah Richards both agreed that Dalot should have been shown a red, the latter said: “What more do you want for a red card?”
Meanwhile, Roy Keane added: “Listen, I've been down this road before: I've given out some heavy tackles and been on the receiving end of a few. To me? I'm no expert on red cards, but... I think it's a red.”
‘Red card all day’ - Mike Dean slams Diogo Dalot tackle
Former Premier League referee Dean took a similar stance. He said: “It’s been cleared by Craig Pawson [on VAR]. But for me, that’s just 100 per cent a red card. There’s not a lot of force in it, [but] it’s too high. The knee’s buckled back. For me, that’s a red card. That’s a red card all day.”
Should Dalot have been shown a red card for the dangerous tackle, he would have been ruled out for three matches and missed out against Arsenal, Fulham and Spurs. That would have been a boost for the London trio with Dalot a key member of the Red Devils starting XI.
Dalot has played 90 minutes in all of the last seven Premier League matches for Manchester United and has only missed two games this season, which came thanks to a muscle injury in September.
In other news, Arsenal and Liverpool target Marc Guehi offered huge Man City contract as deal agreed for 'close to £30m'.
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