Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho has insisted he feels sorry for referee Mike Dean, who received death threats online recently.
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Dean has come in for some criticism after sending off West Ham United's Tomas Soucek for an apparent elbow on Aleksander Mitrovic this past weekend, although the red card was later rescinded. This followed an incident a few days before, in which he gave Southampton defender Jan Bednarek a red card, which has also since been overturned.
According to reports, Dean has asked to be excused from any Premier League games this weekend after he and his family were targeted with abuse and death threats online.
With a number of Premier League footballers, including Manchester United defender Axel Tuanzebe, having also been subjected to racist abuse online in recent weeks, Mourinho feels something needs to be done.
"Of course I feel very sorry for Mike Dean. I feel very sorry with Tuanzebe, and with every Mike Dean and every Tuanzebe of this world," the Portuguese tactician said, as per Goal.
"This week was for them, the week before was for others, and if the situation goes in the same direction, next week will be others.
"I think something has to be done, because one thing is professional life and what we do in our professional lives, and the success we have, the mistakes we make, the frustrations we have.
"Another thing is to go to the private life and go to the social life. Then, of course, something has to be done."
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