After 22 years, Mike Dean at the end of this season will hang up his whistle and walk into the sunset as one of the most iconic referees to ever take charge of English football.
As per Sky Sports News, the 53-year-old official will call it a day after over two decades calling the shots in the Premier League, with Dean one of the most high-profile referees to ever take centre stage in the English top-flight.
Some people love him, some people loathe him, and others just can’t wait for him to retire already. But one is for certain, and that is that Dean has given us some truly iconic moments during his 22-year career as a Premier League referee.
With so many iconic moments, HITC Sport looks at five of Dean’s best moments over his storied career.
Mike Dean celebrates a Tottenham goal
If there’s one moment football fans immediately think of when discussing Dean, it’s the time the English official celebrated a Tottenham goal during 2015 when the referee played the advantage which led to a goal for Moussa Dembele.
The Belgian midfielder could have won a penalty after an Aston Villa defender made contact with Dembele inside the penalty area, yet with the Tottenham icon still on his feet, the referee decided to play the advantage, which led the Spurs star firing in at the near post, with Dean wheeling away in restricted celebration.
Hiding Sergio Aguero’s hat-trick ball
Dean’s antics on the pitch when the whistle has blown have always been amusing, and his most memorable moments when the game had finished was when the official jokingly refused to give Sergio Aguero the match ball after the striker bagged a hat-trick.
After a stunning performance against Chelsea, Dean kept Aguero waiting to give the forward the ball at full-time, as is customary after bagging a hat-trick in a match, with the official hiding the ball up the back of his shirt before eventually handing the Manchester City star his prize after one of his best performances for the Premier League giants.
‘Off you pop’
If there was ever a moment that solidified Dean’s status in English football, it was in late 2018 when TV cameras caught what the eccentric referee said to Brighton defender Lewis Dunk after the England centre-back was sent off in a match against Bournemouth. You know the phrase.
‘Off you pop’ has since become a Grade A meme amongst football supporters both at games and on social media, and it was a moment that transcended Dean to a whole new realm of popularity for neutral fans and pundits.
Sniffing his assistant before a Manchester Derby
From the iconic to the strange, Dean has never been afraid to indulge in some physical comedy, hence why it was no surprise to see the referee sniffed his assistant before a League Cup between Manchester City and Manchester United.
One of the most viral football moments of 2016, Dean’s pre-match comedy was one of the funniest bits of the year, and six years later, the infamous sniff is still remembered by supporters as one of the referee’s top bits in his career.
Mike Dean goes mental at Tranmere
Dean has blessed us with some incredible moments on the pitch, yet one of his most famous came off it when supporting his own Tranmere Rovers when Sky Sports camera spotted the referee in the crowd for an EFL play-off match.
Images of Dean standing on the terraces after a win against Forest Green Rovers are one of the most famous in the referee’s catalogue, and with the Wirral-born official now retiring, we will likely see more scenes like this at Prenton Park in the near future.
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