Mike Dean slaughters chickens. Didn’t you know? Where have you been? He spent 16 years killing birds as a day job, refereeing part-time until going professional.
Becoming aware of that slog, the sacrifices (of his time, not chickens) he made to reach the very top of his preferred profession gave me a newfound respect for referees. Mike’s blowing his last whistle, theatrically brandishing his last card — celebrating his last goal from an advantage! — in May and the Premier League will be worse for his absence.
He is a bit of a one-off in modern football.