Source: Daily_Mail
Pulis rages as Whitehead becomes third Stoke player sent off by Mike Dean
Dean Whitehead became the third Stoke player sent off by referee Mike Dean this season, much to the annoyance of his manager Tony Pulis, who had tried during the week to get Dean replaced for the visit of Tottenham.[LNB]Pulis, who had seen Dean dismiss Abdoulaye Faye and Andy Wilkinson against Hull and Portsmouth, revealed he had called referees' chief Mike Riley on Wednesday to see if someone else could take charge. He failed and saw Whitehead harshly shown a second yellow card for a foul on Luka Modric after 49 minutes.[LNB]Pulis said: 'We sent a letter to Mike Riley about our concerns. Then I spoke to him on Wednesday.[LNB] Marching orders: Referee Mike Dean shows Dean Whitehead the red card[LNB]'We've had bad decisions from Mike Dean previously and we thought it was best we avoided him at least until the end of the season. We wanted to make Mike Riley aware of that. Basically we wanted another referee.'[LNB]Pulis thought Dean got it wrong again by showing Whitehead a red card with the score at 1-0 to Spurs. Modric took a heavy touch and Whitehead was only fractionally behind the Croat as they collided challenging for the loose ball.[LNB]The home boss added: 'Whitehead's booking in the first half was fair but I thought the referee got the second booking wrong.'[LNB]Spurs manager Harry Redknapp backed Pulis. He said: 'The sending-off was harsh. I'd have been unhappy if it had been one of my players.' [LNB] Stoke 1 Spurs 2: Gudjohnsen leaps off the bench to fire Spurs' chargeBeattie embroiled in grievance claim with Stoke over clash with boss PulisShawcross not afraid to tackle demons after breaking Ramsey's legDes Kelly: Muhammad Ali was a hero but Tiger Woods is just pantsTOTTENHAM HOTSPUR FC
