Yet this was the same Mike Dean whose leniency when Chelsea drew 0-0 at Arsenal irritated Arsene Wenger and prompted Mourinho to note that his rivals "liked to cry". With the roles reversed, Chelsea were not just blubbing; they were kicking and screaming like a class of 5-year-olds whose Easter eggs had been confiscated. And over what exactly? Was there a moment of terrible injustice in the game? Only one. When Ramires, a Chelsea player, deliberately struck Sebastian Larsson and was allowed to stay on the pitch.
Beyond that, there was a series of finely balanced decisions that Dean could argue, with some conviction, that he got right. So how did Chelsea react? A furious tantrum from assistant manager Rui Faria, that ended with him being dragged away from Dean by Mourinho and goalkeeping coach Christophe Lollichon.
From Mourinho himself, a bizarre press conference in which he praised his players, Sunderland, Dean and referees' chief Mike Riley. Sarcasm, it seemed, was heavy, particularly when Mourinho referenced how Riley had "organised things" and said referees were "doing really well according to the objectives".
No questions were permitted about Ramires. Nothing about Faria. And no questions on the shortcomings of his team or, dare we say, how they were organised by the manager.
