Referee bowed to crowd pressure in the last fixture to be contested between Cardiff & Swansea, and shouldn't have been appointed
I'm sorry, I disagree with Mike Dean being appointed for this match as strongly as it's possible to disagree with a refereeing appointment. Why? Well, it's been much publicised that he completely bottled it the last time he took charge of this fixture, and given the ferocity of the rivalry it should never, ever have been possible that the refereeing appointment adds further fuel to an already raging fire.
Thanks to the power of the internet, if you want to know what I'm on about I managed to find some highlights of the game in question on Youtube.
I was in attendance for this match, and I was actually front row in the away section. When Joe Allen scored what we thought would be the winner, he ran straight towards where we were standing and that rates as one of the great euphoric moments of my life so far. It will always, always disappoint me that Allen's strike didn't go down as the winner in the last ever derby at Ninian, more for Joey than for any significance I'd attach to such a feat.
Anyway, that was in the 86th minute, and it seemed we were set to cruise to a 2-1 win. So, a bit of pretext before the point of the article. In the 42nd minute, referee Mike Dean was hit on the head by a coin, and had to receive treatment to a cut to his head. Whether it affected his performance you can't honestly say, however it seems massively coincidental that with only injury time remaining he gave Cardiff what can only be described as a ridiculously soft penalty. McCormack converted, and the game finished 2-2.
Now, whether the two incidents are connected only Mike Dean would be able to say, and no doubt he'd refute any allegations of pandering to a baying home crowd vociferously, but the perception (of Swansea fans at least) is that in response to a relentlessly intimidating Ninian Park atmosphere, he bottled it and gave Cardiff a penalty.
The refereeing appointment in games of this nature should be carefully looked at, and only a fine, neutral official appointed. Cardiff fans could also argue that, given he was hit on the head by a coin thrown from their section of the stadium, he's possibly not a fan of them - but given the penalty he gifted them I doubt there's anything in that.
Hopefully this won't be an issue on matchday and he keeps a close reign on things at the Cardiff City Stadium. Fans won't need any encouragement to turn it into a boiling cauldron of noise, sweat and tears, and the man in charge needs to be up to the task. Over to you, Mr Dean.
(PS. If you watch Joey celebrating, I'm wearing a cream hoodie with orange and brown gubbins on it. Happy hunting!)