Chris Kamara joked that Mike Dean didn’t send Bournemouth midfielder Jefferson Lerma off in the draw with Newcastle United as he was waiting for a bigger name to show his 100th red card to.
The Sky Sports presenter shared he believes the Cherries midfielder should have been given his marching orders for the foul on Magpies attacker Ayoze Perez rather than it just being a booking.
Kamara delivered his cheeky verdict on the flashpoint in the 2-2 draw between the Magpies and Bournemouth by highlighting that Dean’s future after-dinner speeches wouldn’t be as impressive if he gave Lerma his 100th red card.
“Yes (whether it should have been red) but as we know Mike Dean is on 99 red cards and Jefferson Lerma when he is doing his after-dinner speech in five-years time, everyone will go who?” said Kamara on Sky Sports’ Goals on Sunday (March 17th, 11:48am, Sky Sports Premier League).
“He wants a bigger name than Lerma.”
OPINION
Kamara is rather cheeky with his remark and it’s not clear who’d take more offence Dean or Lerma? Perez was recklessly brought down by the Bournemouth midfielder and if he had seen red that early in the game, Rafa Benitez’s side may have got all three points. However when all was said and done, a draw did seem a fair result. The Magpies were impressive in spells during the clash with Eddie Howe’s team and look safe from the threat of relegation. Despite this Benitez needs to ensure his side keep their foot on the pedal when football resumes after the international break; as it would be some feat if he guides the club to another top-10 finish. The Magpies may have finally opened the chequebook in the January window but they could have done with spending more. This means it’s still impressive that Benitez is still getting his side to grind out results given his resources.