• Mike Dean gave both Stoke and Manchester City spot-kicks
Defending set pieces is in danger of becoming a farce because of new directives issued to referees regarding pulling and pushing inside the area, Peter Crouch has warned.
The Stoke City and former England forward made his damning assessment after watching his team’s 4-1 defeat to Manchester City on Saturday, a game in which two penalties were awarded by Mike Dean. The first came on 27 minutes after the Stoke captain, Ryan Shawcross, was spotted grabbing Nicolás Otamendi’s arm as he looked to make contact with a Kevin De Bruyne corner, while the other was given on 47 minutes after Raheem Sterling was deemed to have unfairly blocked Shawcross as he tried to run on to a corner from Joe Allen.
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