Mike Dean has drawn widespread condemnation after revealing on a public podcast that he used to set himself private challenges during Premier League matches — including seeing how long he could go without blowing his whistle or leaving the centre circle.
The 61-year-old made the admissions on Jamie Vardy's Having a Party, the former Leicester City striker's YouTube show, during which he described instigating informal competitions among match officials. "There used to be games we had, as a laugh. We'd say, 'We'll kick off now, and see how long we can go without blowing a whistle,'" revealed Dean. "I've done that a few times in the Premier League — before VAR, obviously. Went 20-25 minutes without blowing the whistle, [I would] let it go, let it go, let it go."
He added that he would also attempt to remain within the centre circle for as long as possible while play continued around him, with the lads telling him he could not manage it. "The lads said, 'You can't' — but I got about 15 minutes once, in one game," Dean concluded, as Vardy and his co-host laughed.
Dean oversaw 553 top-flight fixtures during a 22-year Premier League career, retiring from on-field officiating in 2022 before taking on VAR responsibilities during the 2022-23 season. He has since built a media profile, including a role on Sky Sports' Soccer Saturday in which he scrutinises the work of current officials.
His comments drew fury from former Aston Villa striker and talkSPORT pundit Gabby Agbonlahor, who said he had not got on with Dean during his playing days. Agbonlahor described Dean as having an arrogance about him and said the podcast appearance left him thinking back to matches he had played in with fresh unease. He argued that referees should be moving constantly to avoid missing incidents, and that staying in the centre circle risked penalties or free kicks going uncalled.
Refereeing body Pro Ref — formerly known as PGMOL — is baffled by Dean's remarks, according to reporting on the matter. The organisation made no formal comment when approached, with Dean having not been under its employment since retiring in 2023.
Former Premier League referee Graham Scott, when asked about the matter on talkSPORT, dismissed the substance of the claims entirely, calling them palpable nonsense. A separate Athletic contributor — a former Premier League referee who worked alongside Dean on around 30 occasions and first encountered him at an FA Cup tie at Southampton in 2013 — expressed confidence that both stories had been embellished substantially, though he acknowledged he could not prove a negative with certainty.
Dean's podcast appearance also renewed attention on a separate controversy from his time as a VAR official. During a 2-2 draw between Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur in August 2022, he did not instruct referee Anthony Taylor to consult the monitor after Tottenham's Cristian Romero pulled the hair of Chelsea's Marc Cucurella. Dean subsequently admitted his reasoning was rooted in personal loyalty, describing his own conduct as pathetic.
Anthony Taylor, who retired from officiating this summer, chose not to enter the media. He became director of elite refereeing with the Turkish Football Federation, with part of his reasoning being his dismay at referees-turned-pundits criticising former colleagues.
Reporting: RTÉ, FourFourTwo, The Athletic, talkSPORT, The Guardian, The Independent, Daily Star.