“Some of the threats that came my way, I know exactly what Mike Dean is going through…”
Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey has revealed the disgusting abuse and death threats he and his family received during his time as a top flight official.
Mike Dean, one of the country’s leading referees, requested time off earlier this week after notifying Merseyside police that he had received death threats after deciding to show a red card to West Ham’s Tomas Soucek against Fulham at the weekend.
Speaking to Good Morning Britain on Wednesday, Halsey said he could relate to what Dean was going through, having been through similar experiences during his time as a referee.
Halsey took a year out of refereeing during the 2009/2010 season as he had treatment for throat cancer, but explained how he was targeted soon after his return. His wife, who was battling leukemia at the time, was also the subject of abuse, as was his young daughter.
“It wasn’t just myself, it was my family,” he told Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid. “I’d just come out of remission with cancer and had started refereeing at the top level again, which I was told I would never do. My wife was battling leukemia…
“Some of the threats that came my way, I know exactly what Mike Dean is going through. It’s absolutely despicable… It has a mental effect and it’s very emotional.
“My wife was in tears. She was battling leukemia, they wanted her dead – to die from the leukemia. They wanted my cancer to come back and my young daughter to get cancer and die.
“That was mild. Some of the horrific things that came my way, I just can’t say on Good Morning Britain.”
Morgan replied that it “made my spine shudder” to think that Halsey was holding back some of the worse abuse he had received.
“What they wanted to do t my daughter was unimaginable…” Halsey continued. “It tore me to tears. It was horrific. Absolutely horrific.”
'It tore me to tears. It's horrific'
Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey tells @piersmorgan and @susannareid100 about the death threats he received.
'It makes my spine shudder', Piers says as Mark shares his experience of being trolled and the impact it had on his family. pic.twitter.com/dHBszgoKOJ
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) February 10, 2021
