Ex-Aston Villa man backs Paul Merson as he accusses Mike Dean of ‘disrespect’ over VAR bust-up

Paul Merson has been defended after his weekend bust-up with former referee Mike Dean. Former Villa man Merson fell out with Dean live on air on Saturday during a VAR discussion on Sky Sports News.

During the discussion, Merson suggested that PGMOL should hire former players to work alongside referees on VAR to ensure more common sense decisions are made amid a slew of apologies following evident mistakes over recent weeks. Dean shouted down the idea, telling Merson that he did not understand the rules, and a shouting match of sorts broke out in the studio.

VAR is under more fire than ever currently after the huge mistake during Liverpool’s defeat to Tottenham last weekend, and even Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou, who benefitted from the decision, has said he would prefer football without VAR.

As for the Merson and Dean debate, the former has been defended by another former Villa player in Stephen Warnock during Sky Sports News’ ref watch, with Dean dubbed ‘disrespectful’ for his comments.

“I’m all for it (ex-players being involved). I think Mike Dean was direspectful about not knowing the laws of the game and things like that. You can learn it very quickly, you can understand it,” Warnock said.

“We have learned a lot in the time that we have worked with Dermot (Gallagher), we continue to learn and hopefully, we understand it a lot more than people actually think. I think it’s a good thing.

“The other thing, if people talk about people’s allegiances to clubs, like myself, bring people in from Holland, France, wherever it may be, where they don’t have those allegiances. That may be the way forward.”