Mike Dean appears to say ‘Who the f*** is he?’ after shaking hands ahead of Southampton’s win against Tottenham
PREMIER LEAGUE referee Mike Dean appeared to mouth ask his assistant “Who the f*** is he?” ahead of Southampton’s win against Tottenham.
Cameras picked up Dean speaking to his assistant referee after shaking hands with a mystery man just before kick-off at St Mary’s.
The man had been at the centre circle with Spurs skipper Harry Kane and Southampton’s Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
It appears the man, wearing a smart grey coat, was representing one of the match sponsors.
After posing for a photo, the man walks along and shakes the hands of the two players and officials.
Cameras zoomed in on the referee – and it looked like he said “who the f*** is he?” to his lino.
The images were picked up and spread across social media.
Dozens of viewers took to Twitter to call Dean a “legend” and others asked him to “never ever change.”
Dean hit the headlines at the end of the game after showing Spurs boss Jose Mourinho a yellow card.
Mourinho had been caught spying at a tactics board being held on the Southampton bench.
The Portuguese boss, who saw his team lose 1-0 to another Danny Ings goal, was later furious about the incident.
Although he admitted he deserved to be booked.
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Mourinho also hit out at Southampton goalkeeping coach Andrew Sparkes.
He told BT Sport: “I was rude. But I was rude with an idiot.
“I clearly deserved the yellow card. I had bad words.”