Mike Dean explains why Chelsea star wasn’t despatched off regardless of Saliba purple card

Tosin Adarabioyo escaped a red card against Liverpool on Sunday afternoon.

Adarabioyo had pulled down Diogo Jota on the halfway line, but was only handed a yellow card. Mike Dean, appearing on Sky Sports, then defended the choice not to give Adarabioyo the boot in their clash, calling it “completely different” from William Saliba being sent off against Bournemouth.

The incident certainly raised eyebrows after Bournemouth saw a similar scenario end with VAR upgrading Saliba’s booking to a red as he supposedly denied Evanilson a clear shot at scoring.

But, Mike Dean, chatting on Sky Sports, highlighted a key difference due to the ball’s trajectory and Reece James’ role as a backup defender, arguing, “It’s completely different to yesterday. There’s too much doubt involved it. The ball is going towards the officials on the side.

“For me it’s the correct decision,” reports the Liverpool Echo.

And it seems Gary Neville, while commentating, concurred. The ex-Man United star noted that Chelsea had enough players back to challenge the idea that a red should have been dished out.

Liverpool and Arsenal are set to lock horns next weekend – with Saliba set to miss the game as a result of the red card.

Clearing up why Saliba was sent off against Bournemouth, the Premier League’s match centre account on X shared: “The referee gave Saliba a yellow card for a challenge on Evanilson. The VAR deemed that Saliba denied an obvious goal-scoring opportunity and recommended an on-field review.

“The referee then upgraded the yellow to a red card.”