Mike Dean abuse: why did the Premier League referee receive Twitter death threats over red cards he gave out?

Referees officiating at an elite level are under the public spotlight as much as the players and managers.

That spotlight means incidents are highlighted and put under the microscope for discussion more than ever before.

Football's authorities have introduced technology and video assistance to help on field decisions, but issues still arise.

Following two recent incidents, professional referee Mike Dean has reported a number of threats and online abuse towards his family.

Why is Mike Dean receiving death threats?

As a Premier League referee of more than 20 years, Mr Dean is no stranger to the controversy involved in officiating football matches.

Yet he has notified police of abuse he and his family had received online, including death threats, over the weekend.

It follows two separate and controversial incidents which saw Mr Dean send off West Ham's Tomas Soucek and Southampton's Jan Bednarek.

Both of the decisions, which Mr Dean reviewed on the pitchside monitor after consulting VAR, have since been overturned following appeals.

Mr Dean will not be involved in a Premier League match at the weekend, at his own request, but will take charge of an FA Cup fifth round tie between Leicester and Brighton on Wednesday 10 February.

What are the authorities doing about online abuse?

As Merseyside Police investigate the allegations, the game's authorities have come out in support of one of their most high-profile officials.

The Professional Game Match Officials Board (PGMOL) condemned the abuse and offered its support to Mr Dean during this time.

PGMOL chairman Mike Riley said: "Threats and abuse of this nature are totally unacceptable and we fully support Mike’s decision to report these messages his family received to the police.

"Nobody should be victim of abhorrent messages like this.

"Online abuse is unacceptable in any walk of life and more needs to be done to tackle the problem."

The Premier League chief executive Richard Masters called on the social media companies to do more to stop online abuse.

Masters said: "It is inexcusable that Mike Dean and his family have received online abuse, including death threats, as a result of doing his job officiating at a Premier League match.

"It is completely unacceptable that we are seeing abusive behaviour aimed at players, managers and match officials regularly on social media platforms.

"Mike and his family have our full support in reporting this to the police.

"This once again highlights the need for greater proactive intervention from social media companies to stop online abuse and identify offenders."

What has Tomas Soucek said about Mike Dean?

Tomas Soucek was sent off for appearing to accidentally strike Aleksandar Mitrovic in the 0-0 draw between West Ham United and Fulham on Sunday 7 February.

The red card has since been overturned but that hasn't stopped the Hammers midfielder from having his say on the matter, following the reported abuse towards Mr Dean.

In a post on Twitter, Soucek said: "Whatever decisions are made on the pitch should stay on the pitch. I don’t like hearing about it interfering with personal life and I send Mike Dean and his family my support. There is no place for abuse of any kind. It is in the past and I’m now focused on the rest of the season."

Soucek is now available to face Manchester United in an FA Cup fifth round tie on Tuesday 9 February.

How long has Mike Dean been a referee?

Mike Dean has been a Premier League referee for more than 20 years, having first officiated a match on 9 September 2000 in a game between Leicester City and Southampton.

He has been a consistent presence in officiating at the top level of English football and has taken charge of Champions League, Europa League and UEFA Cup matches.

Mr Dean has also experienced officiating international football and has refereed FIFA World Cup and UEFA European Championship qualifying matches.

Born in the Wirral, near to Liverpool, the Cheshire FA official is a passionate Tranmere Rovers fan.