Former Premier League referee Mike Dean has backed John Brooks' decision to send off Brentford midfielder Yehor Yarmolyuk against Liverpool on Saturday afternoon, labelling the incident a 'carbon copy' of what happened in the match between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United last weekend.

Liverpool went into the break 1-0 down at the Gtech Community Stadium, with Keane Lewis-Potter grabbing the opener for the hosts in the 44th minute. It looked to be the perfect time to score, but the wheels quickly came off for Keith Andrews' side.

In an off-the-ball incident, Yarmolyuk leant his head towards Liverpool centre-back Jeremy Jacquet. The coming together was initially missed by Brooks but a three-minute wait for VAR intervention followed, and resulted in a red card.

Mike Dean: Brentford red card 'exactly the same' as Spurs incident

Speaking on Sky Sports, Dean was adamant that Yarmolyuk should have seen red from the moment he saw the coming together. The veteran referee said: "I've just seen the slow motion. He does move his head towards Jacquet and he does go down. It's a carbon copy of the Bentancur sending off. He's got to go to the screen and have a look.

"It's exactly the same as Bentancur so, if they are going to be consistent, he's going to send him off. It should be a red card. He's got to go."

Dean was referencing an incident between Spurs man Bentancur and Man Utd defender Luke Shaw last weekend. The Uruguayan was sent off for a headbutt in a very similar manner to Yarmolyuk's action, Stuart Attwell issued the Bentancur red card, which was approved by Jarred Gillett on VAR.

The Premier League rules stipulate that a player should be sent off for making a clear forward movement with their head that results in contact with an opponent's head or face, unless the force used is negligible. Conduct is not always essential, with violent conduct also covering attempts to use force, even if a player is not struck.

Alongside Dean in the Sky Sports studio was Arsenal legend Paul Merson, who said: "For me, I think this will be a red card. If he gets away with this! You can't do that. I can't believe what he's done."

It's a first red card of his career for Yarmolyuk, who is now set to serve a three-match ban as a result of the incident. The 22-year-old had started the last four Premier League fixtures for the Bees, scoring against Aston Villa in the 2-2 draw last weekend.

The midfielder will sit out of the trip to Hull City and the visit of Nottingham Forest, either side of the Carabao Cup fourth round clash with Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.