Mike Dean makes dreadful penalty call after demotion to Championship

Jan 22, 2017 

The controversial referee's first assignment since demotion from the Premier League did not go well as he wrongly awarded Leeds United a spot kick

Mike Dean may not be on his way back to the Premier League any time soon.
The much-maligned referee's spell in the Championship - the result of a demotion from the top flight for repeated errors - got off to a disastrous start at Barnsley on Saturday evening.

With the home side having earned a 3-1 lead over Yorkshire rivals Leeds United, Dean - from a position a long way behind the play - awarded Garry Monk's side a penalty for handball.
The only problem was that the culprit, Marc Roberts, was quite clearly outside of the penalty area when he handled.
Luckily for Dean, the fact that Chris Wood converted the spot kick did not prevent Barnsley from running out 3-2 winners at Oakwell.
But the decision is unlikely to endear him to the referees' assessors as he seeks a swift return to Premier League assignments.
The 48-year-old was roundly criticised for his performance in Manchester United's 2-0 victory over West Ham earlier this month after awarding Sofiane Feghouli a red card that was later rescinded and allowing an offside Zlatan Ibrahimovic goal.

Dean, known for his flamboyant style of refereeing, also came under fire for failing to dismiss Ross Barkley for a poor tackle on Jordan Henderson during the Merseyside derby in December.