Soucek offers support to Mike Dean amidst death threat

 

West Ham star Tomas Soucek has lept to the defence of Mike Dean after the referee and his family were targeted with abusive threats online.

The Hammers midfielder was wrongly sent off for an accidental elbow on Fulham’s Aleksandar Mitrovic on Saturday evening.

VAR official Lee Mason at Sockley Park suggested to Dean to check the monitor for violent conduct.

Mason even suggested to Dean that Soucek had a clenched fist.

Dean went over and watched numerous replays before deciding to issue Soucek with a red in stoppage time of the 0-0 Premier League draw, much to everyone’s surprise.

On Monday, the FA confirmed Soucek’s red card had rightly been rescinded, however, it also emerged Dean’s family had received death threats from angry individuals over the weekend.

The experienced referee has since asked not  to be included in the list of officials chosen for Premier League games next week.

And Soucek has now spoken out on the abuse away from the pitch that the referee and his family suffered.

West Ham’s top goalscorer posted on Twitter on Monday evening: “Whatever decisions are made on the pitch should stay on the pitch.

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“I don’t like hearing about it interfering with personal life and I send Mike Dean and his family my support.

“There is no place for abuse of any kind.

“It is in the past and I’m now focused on the rest of the season”.

The Czech Republic international Soucek is now available for West Ham’s FA Cup fifth-round tie away to Manchester United on Tuesday evening.