Mike Dean has described his supposed celebration of a Tottenham goal the most bizarre thing he has ever done in his refereeing career.
The 51-year-old has become something of a social media sensation for his antics during games, including this memorable moment from the 2015/16 season.
Speaking on That Peter Crouch Podcast, Dean revealed he was not actually celebrating Tottenham scoring, but was merely happy that his decision to play advantage had led to a goal: “Probably the stupid Tottenham-Aston Villa advantage thing I did about four years ago [is the most Mike Dean thing I’ve ever done].
“I played on and you kind of don’t play on when it’s in the box, it’s the wrong thing to do because you don’t play advantage in the box; you either give a pen or you do nothing.
“When it went into the back of the net I said ‘that’ll do for me, goal’ and I was pointing to the centre circle.
“I didn’t realise I was doing it until they showed it on the screen.
“That’s probably the most bizarre thing I’ve done.”
Dean also watched the incident back last month as part of an interview with BBC and added: “I wouldn't say it was a goal celebration, I was celebrating an advantage.
“It is a foul and I've played on, probably shouldn't have put my arms out but it was good.”
Dean has gone viral on multiple occasions for his actions both on and off the pitch, such as when he attempted to hide the match ball from Sergio Aguero after he scored a hat-trick, and when he celebrated his beloved Tranmere Rovers reaching last season’s League 2 play-off final.
