UNDER fire ref Mike Dean has been demoted to the Championship following a string of high-profile errors.

The official attracted a huge amount of criticism for his shocking performance when West Ham hosted Manchester United earlier this month.

Getty Images 2 Mike Dean was slammed for showing Sofiane Feghouli a straight red card for his challenge on Manchester United defender Phil Jones

Dean sent off Sofiane Feghouli for a challenge on Phil Jones which was later rescinded.

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And now he will have the pleasure of being in charge of Barnsley's clash with Leeds in the Yorkshire derby.

It is just the second Championship clash he has taken charge of this season after taking centre stage when Birmingham City hosted Aston Villa in October.

Dean, also known as the "celebrity ref", has awarded more penalties than any other league ref this season with ten.

Remarkably, five of the last six red cards he has shown have been rescinded.

And Dean received a scathing report from former Republic of Ireland international Stephen Hunt.

Reuters 2 Dean has been demoted for the Championship clash

Mike Dean has got Spurs vs Villa this weekend. Don't worry Villa fans, Mike will be totally neutral https://t.co/aJa3YSi4F3 — Football Fights (@footbalIfights) January 3, 2017

After being labelled "arrogant" by Niall Quinn, Hunt pulled no punches in his column for the Irish Independent newspaper by saying he is "probably the most arrogant man I've ever met".

He added: "I’ve come across some big players in my time and there were times when you’d be thinking, ‘I can’t believe he’s said something like that’. But, even in that context, Dean takes the cake."