Premier League referee Mike Dean has confessed to singing "the referee's a w***er" while watching his beloved Tranmere Rovers.
The 51-year-old appeared as a guest on Peter Crouch's podcast this week, and opened up about being a referee in the top flight, killing chickens and being a "showman" of the game.
Dean's best line, however, came when he was talking about watching League Two side Tranmere.
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When asked if he sings "the referee's a w***er" at games, he responded: "I have a few times, yeah. When I'm watching it, I'm watching it as a supporter.
"My daughter is worse than me. I'm a massive fan yeah... massive. I just lost it to be fair, completely lost it.
"When I go and watch them away from home I won't sit in the main stand away from them, I'll go in with the speccys (spectators) and watch it there."
Dean, who admits to being a tad arrogant on the pitch, spoke about his famous stepovers during games.
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"I do come across like a showman,'' he said. "If the ball comes towards me I will let it go through my legs. I love a step-over.
"I love what I do and the way I referee. It kind of comes out I enjoy what I do. I've had this the past 10 years.''
The ref also opened up about his former job at a chicken factory, where he killed "140,000-odd chickens a day" on average.
"I basically had to go in at six o'clock, do my shift until two o'clock, get my bag, drive to Carlisle, Hartlepool, Scunthorpe or wherever, referee, get back in at three o'clock in the morning and go straight back into work at six o'clock," he explains.
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"That's how it was for four or five years."
There's nobody quite like Mike Dean in terms of pure entertainement, and his passion and love for the game was on show last year, when he was spotted watching Tranmere in the crowd.
The 51-year-old was over the moon after his side reached the play-off final.
Never change, Mike.
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