Sheffield United manager Kevin Blackwell has accused the Football League of "stupidity" over the appointment of referee Mike Dean for the Coca-Cola Championship play-off final against Burnley.

Dean enraged Blackwell for his controversial dismissal of Blades defender Matt Kilgallon in the Steel City derby at Hillsborough in October and the United manager is furious the Wirral-based official has been placed in charge of Monday's annual showdown at Wembley.

Blackwell said: "For the life of me I just can't understand what they are thinking."

He continued: "We had major ructions with Mike Dean at Hillsborough. 'Killa' had been sent off and I marked the referee accordingly and I can't understand the insensitivity of putting someone in who we had a major run-in with.

Asked whether the official's appointment could have a bearing on the final, Blackwell added: "I hope it doesn't. It shouldn't be that managers and players of a football club go into a game knowing that we've had problems with the referee.

"I just can't understand the thinking of it whatsoever, so I've let my feelings be known and I'm very disappointed with it. I've not had a lot of response. You don't tend to get it with these people and I'm very disappointed."