Slaven Bilic slams Mike Dean and his crew for ‘unfair’ decisions

West Ham manager Slaven Bilic criticized referee Mike Dean and his crew’s performance in being the key reason for West Ham’s 2-0 defeat to Manchester United.

In the Premier League post-match TV interview, the Croatian tactician praised his side’s spirit in battling all the way despite the game’s two biggest moments going against them. But Bilic’s showcased the dismay he felt at the red card given to Sofiane Feghouli for him and Phil Jones’ collision, and the missed offsides on Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s goal.

“I’m please with the performance, with how we fought really and gave everything,” Bilic said. “I told the guys that if we continue to work this hard in the pitch, one for each other, we will be very good in the table.”

“It was never a red card, it was a challenge from both of them. To be fair, it was the other way around. The more dangerous one is Jones. He got the ball but he went with scissors. Especially you have to have a feeling who is doing that. It’s Feghouli, he very rarely makes a foul in the game. His foot wasn’t in the air, it’s not deliberate. It was the crucial decision in the game, that early, and it killed us.”

“Phil, to be fair, he made a meal of it, of course. But to blame the players doing that? Maybe he made a meal because he was the dangerous one and made a meal of it to save himself. But that’s a question you shouldn’t ask me, you should ask the referee.”

And though Feghouli’s sending off is getting the most attention, Bilic made sure to not overlook how wrong Dean’s lineman was for missing Ibrahimovic being offside.

“That offside is, for me, a big offside because the players are not sprinting,” Bilic said. “When the players are sprinting, then it is very hard for the referees. I’m always the first one to say that, it’s definitely hard, because most times we need slow motion. But this, players were walking, players were walking. And good referees should notice that it was offside.”