Arsenal fans found the result of Saturday’s clash with Chelsea hard to swallow after 9-man Gunners were defeated 2-0 at Stamford Bridge.
Despite the Blues displaying glimpses of their sizzling form which saw them clinch last season’s English Premier League medal, much of the post-match talk and buzz on social media surrounded the controversial performance of referee Mike Dean.
The official for the Stamford Bridge tie came under heavy criticism after his decision not to hand Chelsea striker Diego Costa a red card after he appeared to intentionally slap French defender Laurent Koscielny before shoving him to the floor shortly afterwards.
Furthermore, Mike Dean came under more fire after he gave both Gabriel Paulista and Santi Cazorla their marching orders, who will thus miss the Carling Cup trip to Tottenham, leaving Wenger’s crew two-man down.
Many on Twitter called for the English FA to punish Costa and ban Sunday’s referee in the wake of the 2-0 loss, but now some Gooners have taken action into their own hands.
A petition to the FA has been launched, with the aim of never again seeing the official referee an Arsenal game.
Titled “Prevent Mike Dean from refereeing another Arsenal game”, it calls for an “inquiry into his ability to referee Arsenal games”, reading:
"Major incidents have occurred in recent and past games that show he is inept at refereeing at this level now."
The petition also brings attention to a video in which Mike Dean appears to celebrate a goal scored by city rivals Tottenham in an Emirates Stadium run-in with the Gunners.
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