PARTING GIFT
‘Ten years too late’ – Neil Warnock rips into Mike Dean amid talk of Premier League ref retiring
EX-Premier League boss Neil Warnock reckons talk of Mike Dean retiring is 'ten years too late'.
Referee Dean, 53, is considering calling it a day at the end of the season after 22 years at the top.
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SunSport understands that no decision has been made so far by Dean or the refereeing governing body over whether he will continue next season.
Should Dean put down his whistle at the end of the campaign, he could stretch his red card record by taking up the role of Video Assistant Referee at Stockley Park.
But Warnock, who managed the likes of Sheffield United and Cardiff in the Premier League, would not be sad to see Dean go after a number of run-ins.
The 73-year-old told talkSPORT that Dean's rumoured retirement is "ten years too late".
He added: "Don't forget I'm always with smaller clubs and like some of the other referees, they tend to go with the bigger clubs.
"Mike Dean has a great game. I look at him and think he doesn't have to do what he does. He almost does things to put himself out there when he doesn't have to."
Host Laura Woods asked if Warnock would send the ref a retirement card.
To which Warnock quipped: "I wouldn't spend 12 pence on him, or whatever the cost of a stamp is.
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"Mike Dean has cost me more than that over the years."
Dean began refereeing in the top flight in the year 2000, and has since taken charge of over 500 Prem games – the first official to do so.
He is the most experienced ref of the current PGMOL Prem crop by some distance – and will turn 54 in June.
Only the likes of Martin Atkinson, 50, and Andre Marriner, 51, can compare. Both Atkinson and Marriner made their Prem debuts in 2004.
He holds the record for being the first and only Premier League ref to issue over 100 red cards.
Dean has brandished the red card 117 times during his career - much to the frustration of many a footy fan.
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