Premier League referee Mike Dean won’t be the only official not on duty this weekend as under-fire Lee Mason has been relegated to fourth official duty for the next ten days, according to The Sun.
Lee Mason has been criticised for his recent performances which included controversy in one game when he refused to give Southampton a penalty against Aston Villa.
According to Sky Sports, Premier League referee Mike Dean has asked not to referee for this weekends coming fixtures following death threats.
Dean will will not officiate in the Premier League this weekend after receiving abuse and death threats following controversial red cards given to Southampton’s Jan Bednarek and West Ham’s Tomas Soucek.
Both decisions were overturned and following a flood of personal and online abuse, Dean has decided to take a step back and not referee this weekend.
Dean gave a red card to both players in separate situations after reviewing both incidents on VAR following pitchside advice to do so.
The 52-year-old is still going to referee in the FA cup game on Wednesday where Dean is scheduled to officiate between Leicester and Brighton and may return to the Premier League the following weekend
Dean’s family was also targeted with social media abuse and incidents of abuse have been reported to the police.