MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Premier League referee Mike Dean has reported receiving death threats to the police after being targeted through his family’s social media accounts.
The menacing messages were received after Dean sent off West Ham’s Tomáš Souu010dek in Saturday’s game against Fulham. The red card was overturned on appeal on Monday, just like the one shown to Southampton’s Jan Bednarek at Manchester United on Tuesday.
Having two of his decisions so publicly judged to be wrong by the Football Association has increased the spotlight on Dean. But the scrutiny has moved into a troubling territory for the Professional Game Match Officials Board and Dean has decided to take a break from this weekend’s round of matches.