Referee Kevin Friend Gives Crowd A Yellow Card After They Aim 'You're Just A Sh*t Mike Dean' Chant At Him

A section of Aston Villa fans were jokingly handed a yellow card during the club's pre-season clash against Bristol City.

Towards the end of their friendly at Ashton Gate on Saturday afternoon, Premier League official Kevin Friend gave the away side a free-kick - a decision that (for some reason) didn't go down too well with some.

In fact, as Ashley Young approached the ball, a chant of 'you're just a sh*t Mike Dean' rang around the stadium when Friend pointed to where the free-kick should be taken.

Image credit: SebastianBacon8/Twitter

The 50-year-old official, who was born in Bristol, then shrugged his shoulders but, as he produced the vanishing spray to indicate where the wall should stand, another (more friendly) chant of 'Kevin, give us a wave' began.

Moments later, Friend was given an even friendlier 'Wahey!' when he produced a yellow card to the away support.

It's great to see a referee with a sense of humour, to be honest. This is great.

In terms of the final result, Dean Smith's side recorded a dominant 3-0 win against the Championship outfit after goals from Jaden Philogene-Bidace, Ezri Konsa and Ollie Watkins sealed a deserved victory.

That being said, it was the antics of Kevin Friend that grabbed the headlines.

Here's just some of the reaction from social media.

Thoughts on Kevin Friend's antics this weekend?

Let us know in the comments.

Topics: Bristol City, Aston Villa, Funny, Premier League, referee, Pre-season

Jack Kenmare

Jack Kenmare is a writer at SPORTbible. He's interviewed some of the biggest names in sport, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Pele, Carles Puyol and Tim Henman. He dabbles in all things sport but football is his biggest passion. He was once hit in the head by a wayward strike from Nicky Butt and lived to tell the tale.

@jackkenmare_