Premier League referee Mike Dean has admitted that Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs players over the years have had mixed views on his refereeing style over the years as the well known Tranmere Rovers fan prepares for retirement.
Whether you like Dean or not, he has certainly provided moments of iconism for all London clubs over the years with some of his refereeing antics that have been picked up on by Spurs fans, who were delighted to see him celebrate that goal against Aston Villa at the Old White Hart Lane all those years ago. For Chelsea and their supporters, their admiration of the aforementioned referee isn't glowing in response with Jose Mourinho on numerous occasions slating the Englishmen for a few of his decisions during his managerial tenure. From sarcastically calling him 'fantastic', to then congratulating him after a crushing 2-1 home loss against Sunderland, Dean will certainly not be expecting a thank you message from the Portuguese regarding his retirement at the end of the 2021/22 campaign.
Arsenal supporters also view Dean in a similar fashion with some of his decision making that hasn't gone down well with the north Londoners over the years. In fact, refereeing, in general, isn't a positive discussion point for Mikel Arteta and co who unleashed a scathing attack on Premier League referees after what. happened to Gabriel Martinelli in the away win this season at the Molineux against Wolves. More recently with the Tranmere fan though, a tackle from James McCarther on Bukayo Saka in the dramatic 2-2 draw between Patrick Vieira's Crystal Palace and Arsenal caused huge uproar at the time on social media.
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Regardless of your own personal opinion on Dean, he is certainly a footballing icon and will always be remembered for the most memorable Premier League referees over the years along with the likes of Howard Webb. We know how the supporters, in general, view the 53-year-old but how do the Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs players view his style?
Well, by his own admission, it's a mixed bag with the Premier League referee admitting that 'some do like me' and 'some don't like me.' "I think over 20 years, you earn a reputation of being a good referee," he admitted on the latest episode of the BBC's Football Focus.
"I think the players I've refereed over the years, some don't like me, some do like me. Some don't like the way I approach games, some do like the way I approach games. And when I give players a bit of stick back or give them a one-liner back, and they don't like it, if they get upset about it, I will apologise five minutes later and say, 'Look, sorry for what I said before, let's just move on', shake hands, that does happen.
"But I think that players like the way I ref. Players know they can give me some stuff and I can give it them back, and they can kind of get away with it, within the boundaries allowed. He then went on to clarify how the last five years of his career have shaped his final refereeing style that just like marmite, some people accept and some people just won't tolerate it.
"I referee how I am," he said. "I don't go out and do it dead regimental, black and white. I've got a grey area in between when I referee, I don't bend the rules, I do the rules as I'm supposed to do, but I can get a bit of leeway. I just love what I do. I just love it." In the same interview, he admitted when he joined the refereeing cohort in the late 1990s-2000s that big icons such as Man United's Roy Keane or Arsenal's Vieira had initially intimidated him. The full interview will be released this upcoming Saturday when it's broadcasted on the latest episode of Football Focus at 12 PM.
