Few articles in sports journalism have been better timed that Stephen Hunt's suggestion that Mike Dean was the most arrogant man he had ever shared a football pitch with.
On the day it went out it was met with praise and unanimous agreement, but then the very next day Mike Dean himself would go on to give a perfect example of everything Hunt had said about him with his shocking performance as West Ham hosted Manchester United.
Niall Quinn and several other pundits then were quoted voicing their displeasure with Dean, but it was as if Hunt had beaten them to the punch as they were echoing his statements about the nature of the widely unpopular referee, and how he refuses to listen to the players he is so delighted to be in control of.
After coming on to the Balls.ie Football Show to argue the case of why his Waterford team would perform much better than everyone had suggested in the 'Which County Would Have The Best 5-A-Side Team?' debate, we soon asked Hunt to give us a little bit more detail as to what it's like to actually work with these referees.
Hunt elaborated on how Mike Dean would refuse to discuss his decisions with players, something he is entitled to do, but in doing so makes it more difficult for everyone involved.
On the pitch you'd say anything to him to a certain degree and he just doesn't care, and I know what I'm like with referees, I try and have a nice word with him, try to get them onside. I used to do it all the time actually, I had a very good record with that, but he was the one who wouldn't listen to me, wouldn't work with me to a certain extent.
And I know it's not his responsibility to work with me, but you'd rather have eleven calm players on the pitch than a few lunatics.
So what is it like when you get a referee who is more civil, more open to discussion... Less of an arsehole, if you will?
Hunt outlined that what a player wants is a chance to plead his case, to give his perspective on an incident, but acknowledges that sometimes you have to admit that you've made a mistake, which can lead to a more lenient punishment from a referee.
He recalled what he described as one of the worst challenges of his career, on Gelson Fernandes away to Man City, and how he escaped with only a yellow card because his open communication with the ref during the match.
Sometimes as a player you know you've done wrong too, and you have to hold your hand up and say 'that was late, forgive me' and try and get away without a red card for instance.
I remember I had one particularly bad one at Man City, where I think if I hadn't been talking to the referee as nice as I had been, I'd have been sent off.
Richard Dunne was coming over to have a word, so it was a sense of keeping the referee onside and it worked in my favour. [Dunne] was telling me that I was naughty, and listen I knew it was, still to this day I kind of cringe at myself making the tackle. I remember Didi Hamann trying to get me sent off, telling Gelson Fernandes to stay down, and he had a right to stay down to be fair, but it is what it is.
To be fair, Steve Coppell and I after the game went in to check on their player in the changing room. I only got a yellow card so I got away with it to be honest, but after that obviously you're on tenterhooks for a few weeks after that you have to manage your tackles right.
An honest assesment from Hunt, while he's not calling for referees to hold a court case with a defence and prosecution for every tough tackle, it seems that all the players want is a feeling that the referee in question will use common sense and accept that not every bad tackle is made with malicious intent.
That is something that Mike Dean seems very reluctant to do, and the decision to overturn Soufiane Feghouli's red card suggests that it would be better for everyone if players were dealt with as Hunt described above, rather than telling players 'if you look at me again, you won't be playing anymore'.
The former Reading and Hull City man also explained that he doesn't think drastic action needs to be taken, and wants the current system of refereeing to remain the same despite the fact that so many bad decisions are becoming the main talking point from the weekend's football.
No, I think it should be down to the referee. Goal-line technology I would say has been a success, but even that takes a little bit of excitement out of the game so I would leave it the way it is.
The fact that it gives us something to talk about, something to analyse, is something that Hunt has an gained appreciation for now moreso than any other point in his career as he is now part of the discussion rather than what is being discussed.
You can hear his argument as to why the Waterford team in our 'Which Irish County Would Have The Best Five A Side Team?' debate below, and he made some strong points to be fair to him.
