Chelsea violence – Dean claims he didn’t see it. The enemies of football, as petition approaches 90,000.

71 Replies to “Chelsea violence – Dean claims he didn’t see it. The enemies of football, as petition approaches 90,000.”

1. Petition to investigate the secret society PGMO Ltd…anyone??

2. Mike Dean is one of the worst ref in premier league also how our we to know if he sees incidents or not he just says did not see it and the FA just go on the ref words this is stop himself or any other ref when they do a game from getting suspended for a game so they just say never saw it

3. Dean and his fellow officials should have gone to Specsavers.

4. Not sure this will work as I’m using a mobile phone to insert the tags, but does anyone honestly believe this linesman didn’t see what happened here Image

5. The petition is also news in the media in my country.

6. As with all these organisations hitting them in the pocket hurts. As they are sponsored by EA Sports a campaign that boycotts them until something happens may have affect.

7. Al, probably blinded by the light 😉 We should stop playing matches when the sun shines you know…. sigh…

   The thing is that as Kos was the last defender the assistant should have been watching in their direction or else he didn’t do his job properly! So him saying I didn’t see it means he was looking at the wrong things and not doing his job properly.
   And no punishment given…. oh well…

8. I know a Sp*d fan in Oz who signed our petition.

   Back to what Dean said he and his team did or didn’t see. There was an off the ball studs up challenge on Kos (I thought it was Costa but my wife said it was Oscar), that somebody saw and notified Dean because he turned around and acknowledged it. I really expected that he would go back and deal with at the net break of play, but he didn’t. The issue I have is that it was exactly the same kind of tackle that got Santi sent off.

   They also have not addressed the Costa Kick Out at Oxlaide-Chamberlain – and that was exactly the same thing that got Gabriel sent off.

   So apart from anything else, we have double standards – and I’d say that leans more towards corruption than incompetency.

   Dean has got off – he is going to referee West Ham v Norwich this weekend. No surprise that it’s not on TV

9. The FA are charging AFC with failing to control their players? Really! What about Deans failure to control a football match failure to make sure the 2 player’s in question were kept apart until half time failure to use sense and blow the half time whistle early to diffuse the situation failure to see the antics of an absolutely disgraceful footballer from his dive to eye gauging to kicking AOC before being substituted to a hero’s applause failure to recognise being conned relentlessly by CFC player’s failure to book Fabregas who at every opportunity was in his face failure to book Ivanovic after repeated fouling but very quick to book AFC player’s etc I now hear he will take charge of a game next weekend so he has no one to answer to not the viewing public,TV companies or the fan’s all of whom pay extreme amounts of money to see a game of football played as fair as ” possibly practicable ” I hope fan’s everywhere give him a hard time starting this weekend

10. A very timely review of the present developments of this ghastly state of affairs.

    I would like to think if I was the owner of Chekski (hopefully a lot less vile than the incumbent), I would ensure steps were taken in house to discipline/remove Costa. Further, I would take similar action against the Odious One for setting up his teams to repeatedly cheat by thuddery, diving, gamesmanship/playacting every week.

    That this has not happened needs no further comment.

    Equally, if I was a Chelsea supporter I would not want my team to win using such methods – I wouuld be ashamed.

    It was quite obvious that Chelski on Saturday expected to get away with their antics – either from past experience, or from instruction, or from a communication from the PGMO or FA. (Where are our phone tapping press when we need them?)

    As for Dean, Riley etc – this incident is the biggest embarrassment to them for a long time and damage limitation is “kicking” in – so we must make as much noise about this incident as possible for as long as possible to as wide an audience as possible – lets see this incident as a potential beginning of the end for the totally corrupt or incopetent PGMO – corrupt or incompetent, either way unsatisfactory and totally unsuitable.

11. Kurt Zouma seems to be quite articulate for such a young foreign footballer. If he continues to improve his language skills at this rate he’ll be an obvious candidate for Sky Sports pundit team.

12. Mourinho has said it all really. The modern game is played this way and justifies it by saying it creates massive interest (which it does),fills stadiums and brings in cash. It is passionate like the game of rugby he was off to see between New Zealand and Argentina patting his chest and ending the interview because he would not answer the poignant questions regarding Costas behaviour naming him the man of the match. Rugby has more rules re behaviour and respect for referees said one clued up journo. Stop deflecting Jose there can be no implied passion in cheating….Then as if by magic Zouma said it all about players attitude to cheating as a bit of a laugh and part of the game and demands respect. Cant make this up can you. This has been allowed to develop overtime because no one wants to rock the gravy train. It explains why football is the last major sport to introduce video technology as a means of enforcing the rules fairly. Nothing will change while stadiums are full sponsorship is at record levels and interest remains albeit a lot of the time for the wrong reasons. Its symptomatic of modern day hypocritical,instant gratification and wannabee society that has lost its morality. Arsene Wenger should always be respected for what he has done for this club..he has his principles and class. When he says Dean is naive he is respectful and really means something different. He should not be punished for that. Video technology with a second referee would solve problems like Costa instantly.
    It is well documented on this site too much power lies with the referees and its association. Fair play in modern football unfortunately lies with incompetent, biased and maybe worse referees like Dean. In modern top level football the last person to see game changing incidents is the most important..this cannot be right.

13. Al, September 22, 2015 at 9:26 am

    Thanks for this image. Imho, the linesman at the background actually SAW what happened. The lying bast@rds claimed they didn’t see Costa misbehaved all game.

    Please can we seriously start a petition against PGMO itself?

14. A FIVE MATCH BAN IS SMALL FOR COSTA’S SHAMEFUL ACTS. HE IS A DISGRACE TO CHELSEA FC.

15. Thanks to Dean he is in the UK but if he was in Africa or the wild west,rioters will be gathered at his home as of now.

16. First of all, for all of them to say they did not see the incidents, is a big lie. If there was only one incident, ok, but there were many incidents involving costa on kos. 1: arm pushing kos’ neck, 2: arm hit in kos’ face, then a few seconds later: 1: one hand in face, 2: two hands in kos face.

    All this in two separate incidents. Where were they all looking? Obviously they all saw it and are lying.

    The fact that this is not the first instance of costa doing such things makes me wonder how players get away with it.

    Disgraceful.

    Another incident that is quickly turning me away from football. It is fast losing its appeal on me now. When i post here no more, then you know i have stopped watching football as one of my pastimes.

17. Petition should be:

    Prevent Mike Dean from refereeing ANOTHER FOOTBALL game.

18. KampalaGun, September 22, 2015 at 10:40 am

    …If he was in South America, he may need police escort for a very long time…

19. LIKE FATHER LIKE SON -MOURINHO AND COSTA!!!

20. Sorry dear fans we have serious problems with English football, do you expect England to win any major international cup

21. “Please can we seriously start a petition against PGMO itself?”

    Yup!

22. I watched the game LIVE!
    It made me lose a large chunk of interest in the the premiership as a fair game, fairly officiated and without a hidden agenda to favor some. Suffice it to say that I failed to watch any other premiership game over the weekend.
    I used to be a keen follower of international athletic events until the doping scandals got too much and to general. I fear that the premiership is going the same way. Indeed, that I can make the association in my mind makes me fear that, unabated, in time, I may become a former fan of the premiership.

23. Gamesmanship, nothing wrong with it happens in all sports, that is what the football plundits and broadcasters are attempting to say in order to cover The ongoing Fix conducted by the pgMOB in the PL.
    However. There’s a tiny little problem with their logic. And that’s in sport that Gamesmanship is usually indulged in by players, contestants, and not by partisan officials.

    Let’s be clear here because as evidenced with the 90,000 signatures there is not much doubt about what was witnessed upon the field and it cannot be covered up and disguised, only obfuscated:

    When an official can be observed and recorded via multiple sources and media to indulge in partisan gamesmanship consistently they are
    A) not competent
    B) not trustworthy
    C) shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near a modern professional sporting contest.

    There can be no debate with any of the above.

    Further:
    At the moment in the world of cricket they are discussing the rehab of three young players from Pakistan, one or two who were groomed for spot fixing. Not even match fixing, just spot fixing. Part of their grooming occurred in the UK. And that is why they were jailed. In the court case the groomers alleged that they had some links with lower league football clubs. This information is all in the public domain.

    The whole fallacy of the pgMOB and the broadcasters’ posture depends upon a complete denial of the reality of professional sport in the 21st century. They can’t even discuss what happens in the sister sports to football let alone adopt the tools and practices applied in order to aid the officials – aids and standards which no cricket, tennis, hockey or rugby fan or player are complaining about, and that have been proven to work over decades. Yet all this will tarnish the purity of the sacred game which also happens to be the most lucrative sport on the planet? Really? It’s enough to makes you wonder.

24. @ArsenalShorts
    “Fully expecting the @fa to charge Wenger with treason, give Dean and Mourinho an MBE each and then put Costa into the Hall of Fame today.”

    Written on the 20th sept. I’m guessing that this writer does not have the power of precognition.

    And that, sums it all up! 🙂

25. Who in their right mind dislike this comment…WHO?

    “apo Armani
    September 22, 2015 at 8:39 am
    Petition to investigate the secret society PGMO Ltd…anyone??”

    Most EPL club supporters and management would want an investigation into this bunch of…

26. I think Arsene and the Officials at the Chelsea have more in common than we’ve been lead to believe.

    After all, it seems Dean and his team all go to the same optician as Wenger and have mass purchased the ‘I didn’t see anything’ glasses.

27. If the Dean Petition stands at 85 odd K…the PGMOB petition will be in the millions within a few days!!

28. maybe a petition to make PGMOB referee assessor’s report public

29. Its great to see this discussion going along very well and in the right direction. So several people are putting in place another petition. The wording of the next one should be very succinct. The first one was very good and has been very effective but not everything required was included, having now seen the reaction from PGMO and the FA. Retrospective action has simply not been sufficient to stop the issue at its source and we suspected this. But it is a good start. We can’t take our eyes off the ball now, so to speak. Many people on her are suggesting and even hinting about the best and most effective directions to take, which is great. We have posters from outside our normal base who are keen to help. Amazing! Lawyers and investigative journalists working in tandem, trying to garner support and backing with other clubs’ supporters groups would be an excellent move.

    Together, all those who hate the corruption that remains in the game right now have this excellent chance to keep the pressure for change very strong. Lets keep to the point, analyse, filter out irrelevance, use the web to the best of our ability, which is potent, and lets not give up supporting the club and the game just at the time when it looks like it may finally be sorted out at the PGMO, which some seem to be hinting at A public admission from Dean would be brilliant, he needs it to be able to sleep at night, surely. He could have an ‘epiphany’ and turn from the culprit into the catalyst for change. Gary Lineker is eloquent and cares enough about the game to help. I hope he joins the fight, as opposed to what he currently does, which is bland and boring from one with his capacity for analytical thought and comment. The snowball is growing, who knows, we might actually end up with a premier league which is about football again.

30. @ Al
    September 22, 2015 at 9:26 am

    If Fifield is correct, then this is the incident for which the Yellow was awarded:

    http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/sep/21/diego-costa-charged-fa-gabriel-chelsea-arsenal

    “The referee confirmed in his report he had shown Costa a yellow card for chest-bumping Koscielny to the turf after the France defender had reacted to the pair’s clash seconds earlier. However, as that first contact with Koscielny had not been witnessed by the referee, the FA had the power to refer the case to a panel of three former elite referees.”

    However it begs the question how on earth the officials managed to see and judged Gabriel’s offence a red, when this is just a caution and how they didn’t manage to see what the rest of the world did and that caused the subsequent anger?
    In the section of “The Laws” that deals with “Interpretation of the Laws of the Game and Guidelines for Referees”, it states as I have pasted below. How is it possible, I realise the futility of this, for Dean not to be in the dock for not giving a red for the violent conduct of Costa and thereby being responsible for the subsequent confrontation?

    “LAW 12 – FOULS AND MISCONDUCT
    Violent conduct
    A player is guilty of violent conduct if he uses excessive force or brutality
    against an opponent when not challenging for the ball……………………
    Referees are reminded that violent conduct often leads to mass confrontation,
    therefore they must try to avert this with active intervention.”

    Although “The Laws” have, in essence, stood for all time, it is these interpretations that are handed down by the IFAB that are always wilfully ignored by commentators, and Mike T, when they trot out their misdirection along the lines of ‘It was all right for Roy Keane and you were not complaining when Vieira was around’. It is found convenient to gloss over that the officials are mandated to run the game in a quite different manner in the present age and that these specious comparisons are self-serving and invalid.

31. Sally Pally-lets hope so, things look really encouraging thats for sure.It would be great to see a premier league about football again.
    Im with you Apo on that one too, time to get the PGMOB investigated too…

32. apo

    It’s now up to you to get a new petition started. You have my complete confidence in this issue.

33. Dean has to be hounded for as long as he refs, the lying cheating bastard that he is.

34. Here’s a thought. Alisher Usmanov is always trying to find ways to help Arsenal, the club that he loves but has been rebuffed. He has done so much for sport in Russia, as Kroenke has in the US, but has so far not been able to have a profound effect on our club and Premiership football that he would like to have done. He has often offered money. Maybe, he would like to pay for the journalists and investigators that could root out the problems we are all discussing at the PGMO, independently of financial involvement at Arsenal. Does he visit Untold? If not, do any of his friends, who could have a word of suggestion in his ear? The kind of help his knowledge and money could provide would not only benefit Arsenal and prevent the Dean anti-football effect in future, but would benefit the Premier League as a whole. Everybody in their hearts wants to see good football at the core of the game here and not the ridiculous school yard sideshows that we keep seeing. Dear Mr Usmanov, can you help?

35. If 90,000 want Dean out of refereeing Arsenal how many want PGMO out of English Football?

    Corruption is not easily overcome when it is so institutionally entrenched. Suddenly the Football highlights are the F word’s book.

    Kronke what are you going to do to show support for this club that you hold so many shares in?

36. Percy.

    Precedents are the thing in football. Especially with poor refs. In this case, it was Beckham all that time ago. That red card would originally have been reserved for players who properly struck their opponents – I think Maradona took a proper swing and kick at someone’s balls in the 82 world cup- but over time, presumably via precedents, the threshold was lowered so what Beckham did was considered an obvious red

    He flicked back petulantly, and that was regarded as a clear and obvious red (not by me, no fricking way); what Gabriel did resembled that in form, so, voila, Dean and co have themselves an obvious red card and the media have a very easy job concurring with it, as do the FA in their review.

    Contrast this with headlocks. There are few precedents for it, and perhaps this informed Adams’ decision to grab Alexis round the neck like that last year; it allowed the officials to freely ignore it on the day, and the media to make no real fuss- a bit of amusement, but no suggestion that, come on, that’s gotta be carded, and should probably be red.

    My theory was backed up nicely when, having never seen it before, it popped up again soon after when Ivanovic got the Everton player McCarthy in a headlock. I think football in a way reacts like one big organism- a never-ending feedback system of what’s currently allowed and what isn’t- which the more cynical people in the game exploit to the maximum. It made me think of this again recently when Shaw suffered his horror injury.

    By my theory, the logical implication of the consensus being that it was pure bad luck, and a good challenge, is that players should be less safe in the coming weeks and months. The more cynical types or those who push things to the edge and beyond and do not think of anyone’s safety will have received the feedback after that challenge, and play accordingly.

    It’s interesting how often people defend dangerous challenges now by saying ‘it wasn’t two footed’. Special emphasis was put on clamping down on two-footed challenges some time ago, so now any smart player knows they’ve a very decent chance of getting away with bad one-footed challenges- which are of course at their worst just as dangerous as a bad two-footed one. Cahill, and Johnny Evans on Stuart Holden are good recent examples. Awful dangerous challenges but the main defence of them is that they weren’t two-footed ones. Daft, but it’s how football works.

    Costa going for the eyes ,as he clearly was, also fits this. There’s no real precedent of that being punished so it makes it easier for refs to ignore it and increases your chance of getting away with it. Zouma grabbing the throat also fits (you could say that’s surely just like Diaby grabbing Barton round the back of the neck- automatic red, no arguments anywhere- but shhhh).

    As does Costa using the chest instead of head to bump Kos. There are lots of precedents of forward motion with head to face being a red, so best avoid that one.

37. Deans performance raises some serious questions. Let us put to side the incredible 8% win rate we have with him in charge – but to miss so many incidents in one game beggars belief, it really does. The most hilarious part is the fact that all the officials saw the Gabriel flick. Unbeleivable really.

    As I mentioned on the other thread, Dean started arguing with the Arsenal fans in the away end prior to kick off, during his warm up. Did this influence his poor perfromance and selective eyesight? Whether it did or not, he has to be asked to explain himself.

    I said after the Mike Riley performance in the 50th game, something is not right. I accept referees make honest mistakes, it is a difficult job and a fast game but what I do not accept are situations where clear rule breaking is taking place and being ignored. Are we seriosuly expected to beleive all those Cosat incidents were unseen. The imaginery card waving? Kicking Ox? Slapping Koscielny, grabbing his face, backhanding his head, barging him over, grabbing Gabriels neck, slapping Gabriel in the chest twice. He even missed Zouma grabbing Gabriel around the neck. Yet he saw Gabriels little flick in a group of players?

    Come on, it is a joke.

    Dean needs to bought to task over this performance. he also needs to explain himself regarding his arguments with our fans before kick off.

    I can say with confidence that Mike Dean was incompetent on Saturday and that he robbed us of 3 points. I can also say that he was not impartial – whether he deliberately controlled the result of the game I cannot be certain but I suspect that was the case because I cannot explain how an experieinced match official can bahve like that. I can’t.

38. *behave

39. Is it possible to draw up a table showing what Arsenal’s leaque position would be if all Deans matches are taken into account? I bet Arsenal would be in the relegation zone.

40. Aziz.

    Not sure but here are some interesting stats regarding our relationship with Dean:

    Since 2009 our win percentage against the top 3 (MU, MC, CFC) as follows:

    The games with Dean in charge: Win ratio 17%

    The games ‘without’ Dean: Win ratio 26%

    In our last 30 games with Dean, he has awarded 6 penalties. Of which awarded to the opposition: 5

    I have not been able to apply any weighting.

    He is either just a bad luck omen for us or there is more to these stats.

41. Great comments from Rich and Kev, thank you.

    The pgMOB representative was engaged in arguments with Arsenal fans BEFORE kick off?

    Corblimey.

    Now there’s a story.
    One that won’t be picked up by any 24/7 football hack.

42. Proudkev,
    If the ref had an argument with the Arsenal fans then this is completely out of order. Referees warm up normally in the middle of the pitch so they only reach a small side of the touchlines. We Always run over the halfway line over here. Between the two teams warming up. So Dean had no reason to be in the corner where the Arsenal fans are situated. As a ref you don’t search confrontation with supporters. Never. And you ignore them completely. If they sing your name you just shrug the shoulders without anyone seeing it. A ref who reacts to the crowd is not done. And certainly not before a match. People don’t like you (and with reason) you just have to ignore it as a ref. In fact most refs are not liked by any set of supporters most of the time so nothing new.

    If he really had an argument then this is really unseen and unheard of and he should have removed himself from the match after that. There was a 4th official ready to take over.

43. Walter.

    As I said, I cannot support the allegation. However there was an Arsenal fan on a podcast who made that claim and he seemed sincere. He also repeated this on twitter. I can DM you or Tony with his account & you can attempt to get confirmation from the horses mouth. At thsi stage it is merely heresay.

    If it is true, then the evidence needs to be collected and submitted to the media and the FA for comment. Because this would lift the lid off a real can of worms.

44. Walter

    Referees at SB warm up in front of the West Stand and as you say run toward the middle. Until Saturday I have never seen any PL officials warm up anywhere else

    Mike Dean and his assistants did indeed warm up along the East Stand and turned at the corner where the family section is located and indeed the Arsenal supporters were located.

    Can’t make any comment about any arguement as it was too far away but he their warm up was no where near the length of time officials normally seem to take and funnily enough we were talking about this as it all seemed odd

    But I promise you I am not buying into anything other that Dean is just a very very poor offical

45. Walter, I understand @untoldarsenal has the information needed to support the claims made about Mike Dean.

46. Mike T.

    It seems interesting that you guys noticed it was unusual the way Mike Dean and his Assistants warmed up. Why the change?

    The combination of events Saturday does make uncomfortable reading. For what it is worth, based on what I have seen, I am utterly convinced Mike Dean does not like Arsenal. The stats seem to support that view and I believe we are disadvantaged when he referees our games. Whether that means he is cheating or simply subconsciously being biased against Arsenal, I cannot say BUT it is wrong.

    With all this suspicion he should never be allowed to officiate an Arsenal game.

47. What for Dean and his mates now? Unbelievable – good job it was an independent panel.

    http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/sep/22/arsenal-gabriel-paulista-wins-appeal-red-card-chelsea

48. Fantastic that Gabriel let off by an independent panel.

    So everyone agrees Arsenal played 10 v 11 but should have been 11 v 10.

    Where is Danny Murphy, Jason Cundy and the other pundits who said the decisons were right on Saturday?

    Next, we need the game replayed.

49. proudkev
    I believe he still faces a charge for bringing the game into disrepute. They won’t let him off that easily.

50. Well I never. A piece of really good news. If there’s no ban at all and Costa gets what he deserves it becomes great news.

    Even better, it signals that just maybe there’s potential for trouble with the FA and Pgmol.

    My understanding,now, is that the appeal actually went outside PGMOL jurisdiction, though they must be represented at the hearings, and becomes an FA issue. Is that correct?

    By the sounds of it, however, the FA do not have any say in PGMOL decisions about whether a ref should then be punished in the form of being dropped. Quite strange that, as the overall result seems to be that the FA can effectively say ‘boy, you cocked that up’ and PGMOL can go, through their actions ‘nope’.

    Quite like it though as it does hint at the possibilities of fault lines in the relationship of the two bodies. It’s like some last remaining interstice between the bodies of FA, Pgmol and the Premier league where, it seems, the latter two do not have full control of proceedings. Nice. Surprised Scudamore- who I believe may well have been instrumental in setting up Pgmol (he was certainly an original board member)- hasn’t managed to close it off,though.

    Comes to something when you’re looking to the FA to ride to the rescue but, hey, they’ve got something right here in a big way- half of it at least- so today I just have to applaud them for that.

51. Maybe the guys at The Metro would like to investigate where Dean warmed up!

    One thing that the club does NOT appear to have done in all of this, is come out and back the supporters.

    Maybe they would like to place a ban on so called journalists who are reporting our feelings of disgust (including the petition and boycotting of Costa Coffee) as a joke!

    Maybe it’s time to get organised and turn The Emirates into a fortress on the lines of Roma or Fenebache!

    My feeling is that eventually, all this will blow over because Arsenal Football Club will attempt to take the moral high ground which is fine – but it hasn’t worked up to now.

52. While this is a welcome development, I am of the opinion that whatever relief the panel has given Gabriel has been involuntary and wouldn’t have happened if the public outcry – in and out of the UK – has not been massive. I hope the other improper conduct charge is quashed as well as the basis for the charge has already been voided.

53. At least arsenal are fighting this..costas time is up..as a thug

54. Proudkev “I can say with confidence that Mike Dean was incompetent on Saturday and that he robbed us of 3 points.” – whilst I agree with the gist of your point, I am not sure about this statement, it assumes Arsenal would definitely have scored. Also, I am not sure the first Chelsea goal was anything more than poor marking on Arsenal’s part. Coquelin being injured was another big factor, which was nothing to do with Dean.

55. Walter my friend Costa was not trying to blind Kos he was only trying to protect his eyes from the strong sunlight. I’m hoping and praying that this does not go away and the more pressure that is heaped constantly on the FA and the Refs will at least make them stop to think again. I wish Arsenal would come out and fight this also because it’s time to stand up and be counted and to let the FA see that the Club won’t stand for anymore crap that is constantly been forced feed to them because they play the game of football with fairness and play it the way it should be played. I really believe that on Saturday football was the loser and we can lay that at the hands of Moanio. With the run of results that his team had he must have been bricking it at the thought of losing to Arsenal and Wenger so he sent out his storm troopers to do what they did. Dean should never ever be allowed to take charge of any Arsenal fixture or better still no other fixture at all.

56. ColG Fair comment.
    Had Costa walked, as the FA say he should, with the score Nil Nil, we would have had 45 minutes 11 v 10. Instead, we played 10 v 11. Up until then, it was an even game. I am certain Chelsea would not have won 10 v 11, which means the 3 point advantage they have now, would be eroded. Had we won, that’s a 6 point turnaround.

57. I agree in the sense that the odds would have been much better. The things that went wrong were not all of Mike Dean’s doing though. Wenger was himself frustrated to concede the first goal. I think without that error, there was a good chance of ending 0-0, as Cazorla would have played a little more circumspectly (whilst I didn’t think he deserved to go, you don’t want to give Dean an excuse to pull a card out). If Costa had been sent off Arsenal would have become favourites, for sure, but Chelsea would have just parked the bus – which is something they are very good at!

58. Interesting day. CostaS number is up. Arsenal get a red rescinded tho there is the other charge. It genuinely looks like authorities have been embarassed, this has had massive coverAge world wide. Is this the wind of change or a temporary blip which will upset the powers that be and bring even more shite on AFC. But looks a bad day for dean costa and Jose with this doctor thing. What can it all mean?

59. As Mandy said, we have upset the powers that be and I can almost GUARANTEE our UA readers and other Gooners that we will pay a heavy price for this in the future. Here is what WILL happen, based on what HAS previously happened with AFC, the PIGMOB, the EPL and the FA:

    1)We will get the Arsenal-hating officials every 2nd or 3rd game, and particularly in big games against other top 4 teams, this season,

    2)Gabriel will get a 3 game suspension for not leaving the field of play immediately upon being ejected,

    3)Other teams will start to behave in more vicious and planned fouling of Arsenal players in the likely hope that there will be an Arsenal player ejected, but, their opponents will get off scot-free,

    4)We will get Dean again, and very soon,

    5)We will be subjected to horrible, rotational fouls and end up with a number of key players seriously injured, thus reminding us what punishment is in store for those who dare question the supremacy of the PIGMOB, the EPL, the FA and the chosen one.

    Nothing will change an iota except that our season, which is already nightmarish, will become even worse and we will become the pariahs of the English Football scene.

60. omgarsenal
    if Arsenal were to lose a few key players we need to make sure so does the opposition. Basically we are in a position that we can cope with having three key players injured and still come fourth while others like manu, chelski or liverpool will be as goog as relegated if they have even a single key player injured for the rest of the season. Horses for courses. Rope in the nevilles for the TWOFOOTER art.

61. I’m with you OMGARSENAL. I will be amazed if they don’t give Gabriel a 3 match ban. Dean will be in charge shortly just to show us that PGMO are in control, and that they are powerful enough to ignore a 90.000 odd petition . Lets have an anti PGMO petition and see if they can ignore that. Looks to me like the FIFA virus has spread to our shores, naive of me to believe it had not.

62. @serge
    September 22, 2015 at 1:29 pm

    Its very easy for me or anyone else for that matter to start a petition (in this case to investigate PGMO Ltd), however I don’t think I am the ideal one to do so.

    UA would have a much bigger audience, and better ways of distributing the ‘word’ out there!

    I say again, if this petition currently going against Dean (not to ref again an Arsenal game), is close to 90K and could easily get to 100+K in the next few days…a petition to investigate PGMO would be in the millions as it would find many other clubs very interested!

63. omgarsenal

    Whilst I tend to agree with your point of view and that of Mandy (We will have PGMOB,FA and the rest of the haters out to get us), I feel that with this current petition there is a quiet public outcry – one that should be re-enforced by continuing the public pressure onto not only Dean, but his employers.

    There is no better form of defense then attack – especially when there is a momentum for this.

64. For Goodness sake when are we GOING TO see quality strikers with Saint like behaviour like Gary lineker,with very small nos of yellow card again,trully there is more money in football this days,the more reason why footballers should be róle models.they should borrów a leaf from other professional sportsmen for example Tennis players.

65. English Premier league is the best league in the world but it seem like individual are spoiling it with their thinking he Mike Dean for example.Dean should not referee Arsenal match Gain if not he should be dismissed by FA. Look at what happen to Arsenal defender koscieny done by Costa. Costa behavior are like Jose behavior when he jose abuse Eva

66. Adewale, couldn’t you have chosen a better example? Alan Smith for example?

67. Mike Dean will very shortly announce his retirement from refereeing – and take up the Number Two PGMOL position vacated by Howard Webb.

    Let’s see..

68. We have a situation where Costa’s ban is farcical, where large portions of the press are writing twisted articles, some even in praise of Costa. although thankfully those have died down since the ban. We have a situation where instead of doing justice, we know from their comments that the FA has worked out what they think the PGMO and Dean can get away with. We know from their report that they have been examining one foul of Costa against Koscielny and not the worst one, or the other three undeniable red card offences. We know they are because we have the clips and photos. Do they? Of course they do!

    In other words, as pointed out by so many of you, the FA are not making any attempt to do the right thing, they are just attempting to deflect the very strong and unquestionable criticism of Dean in the minimum way possible. They must have spent most of their time looking at the press, gauging the public mood, working out what possible fallout there could be and then responding accordingly, with no aim of real justice. I think they misjudged things this time.

    They are trying to keep things sensible and no one would expect them to come out and accuse the PGMO of total ineptitude and corruption, otherwise the whole edifice starts to fall apart. If the bodies together can make things right in future, all will be well but, as so many on here have pointed out, we have been punished for criticism of these bodies before. So we donl’t believe that justice will be done by them without exposure.

    We have large sections of the press doing somersaults to keep this weird propaganda going. Some, on the other hand, especially the press abroad are dumbfounded by our officials, as the whole world has been with FIFA in the past.

    If you ask me, there is only one choice for the next petition and that is to get the petition to have the backing of ALL supporters groups, managers and clubs in the country. Whilst this Dean botch should be the baseline case, it should not be about Arsenal but about the behaviour of referees of the PGMO towards ALL clubs, whether they are giving the club an advantage, as in Chelsea’s case on Saturday or for United at Old Trafford for the last two-thirds of Sir Alex’s time OR a disadvantage, as in our case on saturday and many others.

    It could be titled: All premiership supporters Groups demand a full investigation of corruption at the PGMO and collusion by the FA. Ask all Groups to gather video, photographic, press release, match report etc. evidence of their most obvious examples of foul play against their club, to be handed to investigative journalists from any media outlets which are capable of serious and unbiased journalism. If one particular source volunteers, then they and their journalists could be paid a handsome price. I would donate and I’m sure that many thousands would, some with large sums (thinking of club boards and rich owners).

    One single whistle-blower could blow this corruption out of the water. Just one decent, honourable referee. Is there one at the PGMO?

    The only thing that might stop us believing that this is completely necessary for the sake of a fair premiership for the world’s supporters is a full review of ALL Costa’s Red Card offences, an explanation of how justice came to not be served yet again, a suitable ban of Costa (10 games sounds about right to me), an apology to Arsenal FC for having been involved in yet another game where it was impossible to gain any points because of the actions of Mike Dean, Mike Riley or Martin Atkinson, reviews of other cases of foul play by referees, linesmen and 4th officials submitted by us (ref reviews etc.) or other clubs for match-fixing against their clubs. Yes, this is blatant, undeniable match-fixing. Those are the words that reverberate stronger than others. They are repulsive to anyone who loves football and yet MOST pundits and referees collude with it. It is shameful!

    The next thrust cannot be about Arsenal v the PGMO. It HAS TO BE from the point of view of ALL supporters who were disgusted by what they saw on Saturday and in other fixed games. It is obvious why. The light needs to be shined into the dark corners of corruption by everyone who wants to see fair and unbiased football played in the Premiership. Could anyone with any decency possibly lose out by that? Of course not, only Mike Dean and perhaps one or two of his buddies. Surely it would be great for the PGMO and FA to be trusted by people and would be in their best interests.

69. OMG.

    Mike Dean has been shown up for what happened on Saturday. There are no excuses and no mitigating circumstances.He didnt miss one incident, he missed several. He has also admitted to sending off Gabriel for Violent Conduct without seeing the incident.

    The FA will have the facts, they will have read his report and watched the videos.

    The FA’s actions have proved the referee altered the result of the game.

    I dont know who sanctions Mike Dean but the fcat that so far he hasnt been removed does not mean he wont be. If he does not get removed, something smells.

    I have always said that us fans sometimes forget Referees are also fans. They have teams they support. They have teams they don’t like. This means that when they referee matches they will have a tendency to be impartial. This will mean their decison making is affected, where they would give the benefit of the doubt, they don’t. 50/50 decisons become 40/60. Football is a game of fine margins, so this makes a difference and affects results. Thsi most liely explains our record under Dean. Saturday is just the result of Mike Dean being allowed to ‘get away with it’ for so long. I hope that is no longer the case.

    Fans arent daft. We know that Mike Dean has an issue with our club and our fans. The evidence is right there. We know he favours any team we play, I think I can say that and justify that comment. I certainly think Saturday should be an eye opener. There is a difference between a referee being bent in the case of accepting money or favours, I dont think that is the case. I think he is bent because he does not like us for some reason.

    I hope this prevents him from getting our games again. However, I feel that unlikely. Remember Clattenburg was called a racist by a Chelsea player & Chelsea Football Club backed their player. This was all proved nonsense but Clattenburg still referees their games.

    Will the petition carry any weight? Will Arsenal finally decide they are fed up being nice and take the PGMOL and the FA head on?

    I would not be surprised to see smug, arrogant Dean referee us again.

70. Mike Dean is a huge Liverpool fan.
    The petition should be changed, just Prevent Mike Dean.
    We will see Dean again, he and maybe sympathetic mates will continue to do us, unless the club are involved in something behind the scenes, I mean the execs, not the manager.
    The FA have acted out of embarassment at a fiasco beamed worldwide, they have not acted to do the right thing

71. Hello again people. 10 days away from Internet that time.

    I signed the petition (92,169) but you need to allow javascript from change.org and some random cloudflare domain. Why can’t people writing these pages put into the page what the minimum requirements to use the page are?

    Since they are collecting signatures from all over the world, I suspect that this petition would not see any movement from FA or PGMO until it got on the order of 1 million signatures. 90,000 or so is nowhere near enough.