MIKE DEAN’S 500th game as a referee will be honoured with a medal at Arsenal on Saturday – where Arsene Wenger famously labelled him “not honest” and a “disgrace”.
Dean will pick up his gong in a Premier League presentation before Mikel Arteta’s tenth-placed Gunners host Sheffield United, four points and four places above them.
Mike Dean will be honoured for his 500th game in charge – way ahead of the second-highest total of 397 accrued by Martin AtkinsonCredit: Getty – Contributor
Ex-Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger and ref Mike Dean famously clashed at the Hawthorns in December 2017Credit: AFP or licensors
Tranmere fan Dean is way ahead of Martin Atkinson’s total of 397 games as a top-level ref.
But his landmark occasion at 3pm on Saturday has a touch of irony – after ex-Arsenal chief Wenger’s notorious outburst following a 1-1 draw with West Brom at the Hawthorns in December 2017.
Wenger was fined £40,000 fine and received a three-game touchline ban after all four match officials said he behaved “aggressively” when confronting them in the refs’ dressing room over a late Baggies’ penalty.
The officials claimed Wenger repeatedly told Dean: “You are not honest.”
‘THE GAME WILL BE SPECIAL’
And when Dean asked the Frenchman if he was calling him a cheat, Wenger replied: “I maintain what I say. You’re not honest.”
Now, 25 months later, it will be intriguing to see what reception Dean gets on his big day at a club where he has often encountered hostility.
The Mirror quote the 51-year-old as saying: “The game this weekend will be a special one of course, but there is still a match to officiate so my focus will be on that.
“My wife Karam, eldest daughter Zara and my grandson Harvey will all be there to watch.
“My other daughter Brittany won’t be coming as her priority with be watching Tranmere, as always!”
Dean has no doubts over his most memorable match – Manchester City’s stoppage-time comeback from 2-1 to beat QPR 3-2 in May 2012, snatching the Premier League crown on goal difference from neighbours United.
He said: “With what was at stake and to be trusted to referee such an important game on the final day of the season and with the ending, it will live long in the memory.
“As a refereeing team, we didn’t know what was happening in other games but you could sense that City needed a winner to win the title and when Aguero went through on goal, there was only going to be one outcome.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
