• Assistant referee Beck also dropped
• United manager Ferguson criticised both officials

The Premier League referee Mike Dean has been demoted to the Championship this weekend, as a punishment for his erratic display in Manchester United’s 2-1 defeat by Chelsea at Old Trafford last Saturday.

Simon Beck, an assistant referee in the same match, will join him in the second tier after failing to raise his flag when Didier Drogba was clearly offside for Chelsea’s second goal. The pair will take charge of Bristol City’s home game against Swansea on Saturday.

After the United vs Chelsea match the two officials were criticised by Sir Alex Ferguson for their “poor, poor performance”. United’s manager was also unsparing in his match report to the Premier League. However, Professional Game Match Officials Limited decided the mistakes were serious enough to demote Dean and Beck without any interference from Old Trafford.

Beck has not been informed when he will next be involved in a Premier League match and is missing from the list for next week’s midweek fixtures. Dean, a member of the elite group of Fifa referees since 2002, will be the fourth official for Wigan Athletic’s home game against Portsmouth on Wednesday 14