Mike Dean speaks out on controversial Salah incident in Liverpool v Newcastle
Mike Dean weighed in on a controversial incident involving Mohamed Salah that emerged as Liverpool beat Newcastle 2-0 on Wednesday.
Goals from Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister saw Liverpool claim all three points against Newcastle at Anfield on 26 February despite not having Arne Slot on the touchline.
With Arsenal drawing 0-0 against Nottingham Forest, the result on Merseyside saw the Reds move 13 points clear at the top of the Premier League table, although Mikel Arteta’s side have a game in hand.
Perhaps the only downside for Liverpool from their game against Newcastle would be the fact that Salah did not get his name on the scoresheet.
Mike Dean defends Lewis Hall decision
That maybe would have been the case had Salah been awarded a penalty as he thought he should have one after Lewis Hall brought him down in the Newcastle box in the early stages of the game, although the referee gave a free-kick in the defender’s favour.
Providing expert opinion on refereeing decisions in the Sky Sports studio, Dean insisted that he could find fault in the call even after reviewing the footage age.
The former Premier League referee pointed out that Salah had nudged Hall on his back before the alleged penalty incident happened.
Speaking on Sky Sports News (26 February, 8:22 pm), Dean said: “I don’t think it has, no.
“I’ve looked at it again, I think there’s a bit of a nudge on the back of Hall, who loses balance, then he goes down and he kind of brings him down with his arm, but he’s given a foul on Hall outside the area.
“I think the assistant referee has probably fed him some information, he might have a different angle, but I think I can see why he’s given the free kick.”
This challenge was given as a free-kick to Lewis Hall 👀
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Liverpool on course to clinch Premier League
Liverpool were not upset over the decision for too long as Szoboszlai put them in front minutes later, with Luis Diaz providing the assist.
Any doubts of Newcastle pulling level and nicking a point at Anfield were put to bed after Mac Allister doubled the hosts’ lead in the 63rd minute.
While Salah will be disappointed about not scoring on Wednesday, he did manage to grab the assist for the Argentina international’s goal.
| Player | Assists (Season) |
| Thierry Henry | 20 (2002-03) |
| Kevin de Bruyne | 20 (2019-20) |
| Kevin de Bruyne | 18 (2016-17) |
| Mesut Ozil | 18 (2015-16) |
| Cesc Fabregas | 18 (2014-15) |
| Frank Lampard | 18 (2004-05) |
| Cesc Fabregas | 17 (2007-08) |
| Mohamed Salah | 17* (2024-25) |
The former Chelsea ace has, therefore, moved another step towards breaking Thierry Henry and Kevin de Bruyne’s assist record in the Premier League.
The aforementioned players hold the record for the most amount of assists by an individual player in a Premier League season with 20 each.
Salah is at 17 with 10 games left to play.