Graham Poll has claimed that Mike Dean, the referee in Saturday's match between Chelsea and Manchester City, spared John Terry and Wayne Bridge the embarrassment of a pre-match stand-off by reversing the Premier League's handshake protocol.
The assistant referee, Bobby Pollock, suggested to Dean that he ask City's captain, Shay Given, to lead his team-mates down the Chelsea line, writes Poll in today's Daily Mail.
The focus before the match, which City won 4-2, was on whether Bridge would shake Terry's hand after the pair fell out over tabloid allegations. Usually the home side's captain leads his team down the visitors' line in order to welcome them to the ground and, of course, that would have been Terry. Dean's decision to alter proceedings ensured the Chelsea captain could not stand in front of Bridge and demand a handshake.
Instead Bridge was able to walk past Terry and reject his outstretched hand with the minimum of fuss, thereby avoiding a potentially ugly confrontation. Bridge was, therefore, able to make his point to his tormentor and an intrigued public before going on to help City to a cathartic victory.
One problem solved, Dean still had a busy afternoon in a fiery match, awarding a penalty for each side and sending off Chelsea's Juliano Belletti and Michael Ballack as Carlo Ancelotti's side imploded on their way to a first defeat at home this season.
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