Nine yellow cards, two sending offs, stoppage-time penalty – Mike Dean’s busy afternoon as he reaches milestone in Aston Villa’s win at Wolves

Refereeing icon Mike Dean ‘achieved’ a personal milestone during Aston Villa’s fiery 1-0 win at Wolves on Saturday lunchtime.

Dean, who’s been officiating in the Premier League since 2000, reached his 3,000th yellow card as the two Midlands sides locked horns at Molineux.

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Dean has been brandishing the yellow and red cards for the last 20 years

Villa defender Matty Cash was the recipient of the historic caution as Dean brandished a yellow card in the 29th minute.

Never one to shy away from making a big decision, Dean was a busy boy throughout.

He handed out EIGHT more yellow cards in the match, while two players (Joao Moutinho and Douglas Luiz) were sent off towards the end.

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But the biggest decision he made came deep into stoppage-time as John McGinn (another yellow card recipient) was felled in the box by Nelson Semedo.

Dean awarded the penalty in typical Mike Dean style with his highly-pronounced point to the spot and Anwar El Ghazi slotted away the resulting spot-kick.

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Cash is a part of Dean’s personal history

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Dean has a word with Villa captain Jack Grealish, who was one of the other players to be booked

A few other things did go on in the match without Dean’s involvement.

Wolves starlet Fabio Silva hit the post, while the brilliant Emi Martinez denied Leander Dendoncker with a spectacular save in the second half.

It appeared there was one decision which had passed the legendary referee by in the first half with the ball striking Romain Saiss on the arm and inside his own box.

Saiss had little time to react to the cross from the right and his arm didn’t appear to be in an unnatural position so it was correct not to award a penalty, however, the way VAR came to that conclusion was controversial.

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Villa claimed the bragging rights over Wolves

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Here’s to another 3,000 yellow cards