Tomáš Souček has taken to social media to send Mike Dean and his family his full support after the official received death threats following the club's draw against Fulham.
The 52-year-old, who has sent off more players than anyone else in Premier League history, controversially dismissed the West Ham midfielder for violent conduct on Saturday afternoon.
Despite contact appearing entirely accidental, Dean studied video footage for several minutes and came to the conclusion that Soucek's elbow on Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic was worthy of a red.
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The decision, which was later overturned, sparked plenty of controversy both during and after the game on social media. In fact, thousands of fans signed a petition calling for Dean to be sacked as a Premier League referee.
Dean's decision at Craven Cottage came after he dismissed Jan Bednarek during Southampton's 9-0 loss to Manchester United at Old Trafford - another decision that was later overturned on appeal.
It has been a tough week for the experienced official and on Monday afternoon, it emerged that he has asked to be removed from the refereeing rota this weekend after his family received death threats.
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"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." former Premier League referee Mike Riley told The Times.
"Nobody should be a 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."
Hours after it emerged that Dean had asked to be removed from the refereeing rota for the weekend's Premier League fixtures, West Ham midfielder Tomáš Souček has defended the official.
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"Whatever decisions are made on the pitch should stay on the pitch." he said on Twitter.
"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's latest tweet comes hours after The Czech Republic international expressed his delight at the red card being overturned.
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"I am glad my red card against Fulham has been overturned." he said on Twitter.
"I've checked it, I've gone over 200 games without a single red card. My entire career. I am looking forward to helping the team in the important games this week! Thanks for your support!
Soucek is right. There is no place for abuse of any kind.
Topics: Football News, Tomas Soucek, Football, Mike Dean, Premier League, West Ham
