Source: PA
Hughes claims rough ref justice
Referee Mike Dean refused to explain his decision to award one of the most controversial goals of the season after it handed Tottenham another comeback victory and Mark Hughes his first Barclays Premier League defeat as Fulham boss.
Referee Dean allowed Tom Huddlestone's 63rd-minute winner to stand at Craven Cottage after assistant Martin Yerby had initially flagged William Gallas offside.
The call infuriated the Fulham fans and Hughes, who sought a meeting with Dean after the match only to be told the official had already left the ground.
That was after the referee turned down an interview request from the media to allow him to clarify his position over the goal, which he awarded following protests from Spurs and a brief summit with Yerby. Hughes had calmed down by the time he conducted his own post-match debrief almost an hour after his side's 2-1 defeat.
"The goal should have been wiped out because Gallas is in an offside position as the ball is struck by Huddlestone," Hughes said of the winner, which did take a slight deflection off Chris Baird but was struck by Huddlestone when Gallas was already in an offside position.
"The only grey area which I thought is whether it hit one of our players on the way through. Maybe then the argument is he's played him on because he's the last player to touch the ball. I think Mike Dean went over to the assistant linesman to ask whether Gallas had touched the ball. The assistant obviously said, 'No he didn't'."
