A well-known figure in English football, Premier League referee Mike Dean alerted police after his family received death threats following two controversial red cards he released last week.
The "referee", who has served in the first division since 2000, has been criticized for having sent off Southampton defender Jan Bednarek, against Manchester United last Tuesday, then West Ham midfielder Tomas Soucek, in Saturday's match at Fulham .
Both decisions were overturned on appeal by the English Federation.
Mike Dean has asked to be relieved of his duties next weekend, according to the Guardian, although he is scheduled to referee Wednesday's FA Cup fifth round match between Leicester and Brighton.
Mike Riley, managing director of Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), a body that trains and selects referees to officiate in the Premier League, supported Dean's decision to notify the police.
"Online abuse is unacceptable"
"Threats and abuse of this nature are totally unacceptable and we fully support Mike's decision to report messages received by his family to the police," he said.
“No one should be the victim of heinous messages like this.
Online abuse is unacceptable in all quarters and more needs to be done to tackle the problem ”.
Pole Bednarek was sent back to the locker room for a foul on Frenchman Anthony Martial in Manchester United's 9-0 victory over the Saints.
Dean stuck to his original decision after being asked to check out the pitch-side TV monitor at Old Trafford.
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Dean then ruled out Czech Soucek for accidentally hitting Serbian Aleksandar Mitrovic with the elbow in Saturday's 0-0 draw.
The 52-year-old referee also checked the slow-motion footage of the action on the pitch-side TV monitor, after consulting the VAR, and decided the incident deserved a direct red.