BOSS Eddie Howe voiced his “disappointment” at the display of Mike Dean and said the referee’s decision not to award Cherries a penalty at Brentford had come as “no surprise”.

Cherries’ promotion drive suffered a blow as they were beaten 3-1 in a flashpoint-laden clash at Griffin Park, which included a contentious verdict over half-time substitute Ryan Fraser’s tumble.

Having already booked Yann Kermorgant for a perceived dive in the first period, Dean cautioned Fraser after the livewire Scot had gone down in the box with the score at 2-1.

Fraser appeared to have been clipped by defender Tony Craig but Wirral official Dean elected to award a free-kick in the Bees’ favour.

That was a verdict at odds with the opinion of Howe, who in October had written to Football League referees’ chief David Allison over a series of contentious decisions.

Howe told the Daily Echo: “For me, it was a clear-cut penalty. There was no doubt in my mind that Ryan had his legs taken just as he was about to shoot. There was definite contact.

“I was really disappointed the referee reacted in the manner he did and it was no surprise on the day because I felt we got the rough edges of the decisions.

“I don’t think the referee was very good for us. For such an experienced official, he didn’t have a great game.

“Yann’s an honest player and always has been. I couldn’t see whether there was contact or not but I would be very surprised if he had gone down without a touch.

“I didn’t have a good view of it but I certainly had a very good view of the second. I was disappointed with both.”

Howe admitted that Matt Ritchie had been taken off at the break to avoid the risk of dismissal in the second half.

The winger was booked for a foul on Stuart Dallas in the 35th minute and escaped a second caution for a sliding challenge on the same man shortly after.

Howe added: “I didn’t think the first one was a booking.

“Unfortunately for Matty, it had come to a point where the referee had made it clear that he was one foul away from getting sent off, and the crowd was clear that was the case.

“At that stage of the game, with so long to go, we couldn’t take that risk.”