Pain in the Arsenal
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Arsenal Supporters Taking Matters Into Own Hands with Mike Dean, Diego Costa Situation

By Josh Sippie

By Ronnie Macdonald from Chelmsford, United Kingdom (Referees warm up Uploaded by russavia) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
By Ronnie Macdonald from Chelmsford, United Kingdom (Referees warm up Uploaded by russavia) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons /
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Arsenal’s clash with Chelsea was full of drama. Both teams looked very evenly matched and it looked to be a well-fought match. Whichever team could pull points will surely have to earn it. But then Mike Dean stepped in. After Diego Costa turned into a rabid bear and mauled Laurent Koscielny (scratch marks were visible), Gabriel Paulista stepped up. Costa, who even team mate Kurt Zouma has labeled a ‘cheat’, continued the squabble with Gabriel until both were yellow carded.

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That seemed to be the end of proceedings but after Costa placed himself right up against the back of Gabriel and received a ‘get away from me’ heel flick, the Brazilian (and not the Brazilian traitor) was sent packing. Looking back, one can see the claw marks on Gabriel as well, but it was the cheat who remained in the game.

What makes the situation even worse is that Mike Dean was clearly satisfied with the yellow cards. However, Chelsea enacted their now infamous technique of swarming the referee until he conforms to your desires. And it worked. Mike Dean emerged from the babbling see of blue with a red card.

Arsenal supporters have had enough. They may not be able to sign players for their team, but they sure can sign a petition for their team. Which, by the way, is right here:

Petition to Prevent Mike Dean From Ever Refereeing Another Arsenal Game

Exercise your democratic rights and sign!

Anyway, back to the point. Mike Dean has been appealed to by Arsene Wenger. The story goes that if Mike Dean admits that he did not witness the mauling of Koscielny, that the FA can therefore ban Diego Costa for three games for violent conduct. While this will not undo the irreparable damage that it did to Arsenal in the match itself, it would be justice delivered.

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Diego Costa has a history of getting away with this stuff. When your team mates are admitting that they are proud of you for being a cheat, how does that make you feel? Diego Costa has not been sent off in a league match since 2010, which is a testament to how much he gets away with.

In the end, Arsenal supporters have done the right thing. The FA has a chance to get all of this right to the best of their ability. They cannot change the loss to Chelsea, but with near 70,000 signatures already on the petition, they have to take the charge seriously. No team should have to feel insecure about a referee because of his history of ruling against them.

Next: Gabriel to become cult hero for Diego Costa scrum

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