Calum Chambers was adjudged to have deliberately handled in the area when Kieran Gibbs’ cross hit his arm at close range, an incident that left Arsenal players and manager Arsene Wenger apoplectic.
Cech was handed a yellow card by Dean after asking why he had awarded a penalty, claiming afterwards on Sky Sports that the referee had simply ignored his questions and handed him the booking.
Speaking after that interview Cech said: “I can’t understand why the penalty is given.
“Prior to the season we always have meetings with referees and obviously when it comes to situations where the player is too close to the ball and has no chance to react and has absolutely no way for the player to avoid the contact with the ball with his hand obviously we were always told that it’s not a penalty kick.
“The player actually can’t do anything about it. We are coming two minutes to the game and obviously this decision is given which I can’t understand.
“We came for three points. We should have got three points. It came down to one decision.”
Arsenal had laboured their way to the lead at the Hawthorns, with Alexis Sanchez’s deflected free-kick seven minutes from time, which would subsequently be credited as an own goal by James McClean, setting Arsenal on course for three crucial points ahead of the visit of Chelsea to north London on Wednesday.
The penalty equaliser, converted by Jay Rodriguez, ended Cech’s bid for a 200th Premier League clean sheet whilst extending an unfortunate run which has seen him concede all 13 penalties he has faced since joining Arsenal in 2015.
“We were in control overall,” Cech lamented. “We got a bit lucky with the goal but sometimes you deserve that.
“To have lost two points like that is very disappointing.”
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