Home and Away | Oh yes he is! A baddie ref is vital to the football pantomime

Where would Batman be without the Joker? What good Star Wars without Darth Vader, Harry Potter sans Lord Voldemort, Sleeping Beauty minus Maleficent, Peter Pan robbed of Captain Hook and football without bad refs?

More specifically, what would the Premiership be without Mike Dean?

Ref Dean has been the subject of a witch hunt after a series of mistakes during recent high-profile games.

Slaven Bilic accused him of ruining West Ham’s match with Manchester United last week by incorrectly sending off Sofiane Feghouli with the game delicately poised at 0-0. United went on to win 2-0 and Bilic accused Dean of “killing” his team with his Yuletide blooper.

Dean is no stranger to contention having courted controversy over the seasons with the same vigour as Zsa Zsa Gabor did potential wealthy husbands.

His bizarre facial expressions when directing play and having been more than once accused of celebrating goals during matches have made him one of the most recognisable and despised refs among many football supporters.