Players know what to expect from certain referees.
“Oh shit, we have Lee Mason tonight. He’s a bit fond of a red card so stay on your feet.”
“Kevin Friend is in charge today so mind your language, he comes down hard on dissent.”
“We can get away with murder tomorrow, Anthony Taylor’s in.”
But when it comes to Mike Dean, it’s likely very much a sense of, “What on earth is he going to do today?”
The Wirral official, who supports Tranmere (fun fact), is undoubtedly the Premier League referee who best translates to viral video fodder.
Whether it’s celebrating Spurs’ goals or doing the most mundane of officials’ tasks in the most theatrical fashion imaginable, he’s often the star of the show when he takes charge of games.
Absolutely nobody picks up a ball like the spotlight-loving referee but not everybody’s a fan of him.
He pissed off both Garth Crooks and Jamie Vardy.
Frankly, we can’t get enough of him.
He was in charge of the Manchester derby in the EFL Cup on Wednesday night and with a game of that magnitude, there was always the danger that the occasion or the superstar players might be spoken about more than the man in the middle.
But this isn’t Dean’s first rodeo and he knows exactly how to get the Twittersphere talking.
Ahead of kick-off, he made the bizarre decision to give one of his assistants an almighty sniff which is, just a bit weird.
Never change, Mike Dean https://t.co/1tbUByxTXQ
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) October 26, 2016
And viewers were (kind of) divided on the typically untypical behaviour of the man, the myth, the attention seeker.
Mike Dean is a massive piece of shit. Referees games to seek attention. Fraud.
— shannon (@shannon_ae) October 26, 2016
Welcome to the Mike Dean show 🙄
— Emmett (@TheEmmett_) October 26, 2016
Mike Dean is a gift that just keeps giving
— Memz (@iMemzy) October 26, 2016
Mike Dean is such a strange bloke
— Luke (@allentluke) October 26, 2016
https://twitter.com/Jimfromtheblock/status/791356499251593216
I reckon Mike Dean is actually a funny chap, in like the most embarrassing dad in the world funny.
That, or he's as mad as a box of frogs.— Darryl (@Juppopovic) October 26, 2016
Mike Dean can fuck off
— Paul (@paulpmcg) October 26, 2016
Wonder what foreign players think when they see Mike Dean for the first time
— Henry Connolly (@HenryConnolly1) October 26, 2016
Mike Dean is actually hilarious
— Gavin (@gavinmitchell8) October 26, 2016
Came for the football, stayed for Mike Dean
— AH (@LehmannsTerms_) October 26, 2016
https://twitter.com/LiverpoolLegacy/status/791354944020484096
Go on Mike Dean! The stage is all yours.
— Philippa Smallwood (@Pippa35) October 26, 2016
"It's Mike Dean's world and we're all just living in it."
— Adam (@acrs_h) October 26, 2016
Wish they had an option for a Mike Dean cam.
— Kieran (@KieranMoore_12) October 26, 2016
Mike Dean is the Zlatan of referees.. Can't stand him
— MT (@mihirt25) October 26, 2016
Polarising, eh?
You can catch up on the latest episode of JOE’s Football Friday Live right here…
