The appointment of Mike Dean as referee for Sunday's South Wales derby, the first at this level, between Cardiff and Swansea, has raised a few eyebrows.
Mr Dean was the referee in 2009 when Ninian Park staged it's last Cardiff v Swansea game. The match ended 2 - 2 with Ross McCormack scoring an injury time penalty to earn a draw for Cardiff.
Earlier in the game Mike Dean had been hit on the head by a coin thrown from the Cardiff support. The game was stopped while the refere received treatment for a cut forehead.
Swansea had led at half time with Michael Chopra levelling for Cardiff early in the second half. Joe Allen looked to have won in for Swansea in the 88th minute before Ross McCormack went down under a challenge from Ashley Williams in the box and Dean awarded the spot kick.
Dean has been in charge of several Cardiff away games since then but this is his first back in the capital.
Phil Sumbler, chair of Swansea Supporters’ Trust, said: “Given Mike Dean’s association with this tie, particularly the last game at Ninian Park, I genuinely think this was something that should have been avoided.
“It’s two-fold. He was hit by a coin, which was unacceptable, but then he gave a penalty decision later in the game which seemed, to Swansea fans, a way of appeasing the crowd after what had happened.
“It has put more pressure on the game than was needed. Mike Dean probably won’t be the first choice for either side, but surely it would have been better to have a referee with no past history with the fixture.
“There are 12 or 13 top level referees who are all good at what they do.”
Cardiff City v Swansea CitySunday 4:00pm.
Source: Cardiff City Online
Source: FOOTYMAD
