The Men In Black: Forest v Swansea 1st Leg

Premier League referee Mr. Mike Dean from the Wirral, gets the gig for the nPower Championship, Playoff semi final 1st leg, between Nottingham Forest and Swansea City at the City Ground on Thursday night (KO:7.45pm).

The last time Mr. Dean had the privilege of officiating in a game involving the Reds’, was way back in 2001, when we lost at the Reebok, 1-0 to Bolton in the League Cup.

So far this season he’s refereed in 39 games, in which he’s dished out a whopping 136 yellow cards and 6 red.

Back in 2009, he was involved in a controversial incident during the South Wales derby, between Cardiff and the Swans. He was hit by a coin, said at the time to have been thrown by a Cardiff fan and had to be treated for injury. He also awarded Cardiff a controversial penalty in the game. so lets hope he doesn’t try and redress the balance on Thursday.

He will be ably assisted on the lines by Mr. D. J. Cann and Mr. R. S. Ganfield. The 4th official will be Mr. M. Oliver.