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Having not taken charge of a match over the weekend, Mike Dean will be back in the middle of the pitch when Wolverhampton Wanderers play host to Manchester United at Molineux on Tuesday night, and both sets of players have good reason to be really wary.
What’s the word, then?
Well, the 50-year-old match official is the most well-known one in the Premier League, and for good reason – he is a controversial character known for making big – and often contentious – decisions in big top flight matches.
It has been no different for Dean this season, who has been involved in making his fair share of interesting calls, although that’s how he seems to like it when you watch him in action.
The latest fixture he will referee is more important to the visitors than it is to the hosts given Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men are chasing a top-four finish, while the west Midlands outfit will have one eye on their FA Cup semi-final clash against Watford at the weekend.
Dean loves a card
While the majority of his personal stats from the 22 Premier League matches this season don’t particularly stand out one way or another, there are definitely two that do.
Firstly as per WhoScored, he has dished out more yellow cards (97) than any of his counterparts – the next highest is Anthony Taylor on 90 who has taken control of five more games – while he has also remarkably shown the red card on nine occasions, again more than any other official and one-fifth of the total shown in the top flight in 2018/19.
Two of those actually came against Wolves this season which should act as a warning to the Red Devils, with Newcastle United’s DeAndre Yedlin and Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy the two men to receive their marching orders.
Considering he showed eight yellows in United’s 1-0 win against Leicester and a further seven in their 2-2 draw against Chelsea, it is obvious that he looks to set a precedent early on in proceedings.
Wolves and Man United players beware, Dean’s got his cards and he isn’t afraid to use them.