Referee Announced For Man Utd vs Man City Game – More Controversy On The Way?

Referee Mike Dean has been announced as the man who will be in charge of Monday nights Manchester derby as run-away league leaders Manchester United welcome defending champions City to Old Trafford.

While Dean is one of the league’s most experienced officials, he’s also one of the most controversial and has had several run-ins with Sir Alex Ferguson in the past.

Monday’s game will be the first time Dean officiates a Man Utd game since overseeing their 4-3 win over Newcastle United on Boxing Day. While United may have collected the three points in the end, it wasn’t before Ferguson clashed with Dean and his assistants at the interval after a series of decisions went against his side as they trailed 2-1 at the break, with the decision to allow a Jonny Evans own goal to stand particularly incensing the United boss.

City manager Roberto Mancini has also clashed with Dean this season when he controversially sent off Vincent Kompany during a 2-0 win over Arsenal in January. The City captain was shown a straight red for a lunge on Jack Wilshere and Mancini was left furious with the decision and the prospect of losing his key defender for 3 matches. City later appealed the decision and an FA panel rescinded the red card and Kompany escaped the ban.

Dean seems to love being the centre of attention, especially  on the big stage, so we’ll just have to hope that we won’t be talking about the man in blacks performance on Tuesday morning instead of a pulsating Manchester derby.

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