Mike Dean’s Refereeing Claims Spark Furious Response From Two Former Premier League Officials

Mike Dean has been hit with a fierce response from two former Premier League referees after making a series of extraordinary claims about “games” he allegedly played while officiating matches in the top flight.

The retired official, who spent more than two decades refereeing in English football before calling time on his career in 2022, revealed the unusual routines during an appearance on Jamie Vardy’s Having a Party podcast.

Dean claimed that, before the introduction of VAR, he and other referees would sometimes challenge themselves to see how long they could go without blowing the whistle.

According to Dean, he had managed to go 20 to 25 minutes without making a single whistle call on several occasions.

He also described another personal challenge in which he attempted to remain inside the centre circle for as long as possible.

“I used to stand in the centre circle and see how long I could stay in the centre circle before I had to leave,” Dean said.

He claimed he once managed approximately 15 minutes without leaving the centre circle, while his fellow officials encouraged him to keep trying.

The comments quickly drew criticism, with some within the football community questioning whether the claims should be investigated by the FA.

Now two former Premier League referees have publicly challenged Dean’s account.

Graham Scott brands Dean’s claims ‘palpable nonsense’

Former Premier League referee Graham Scott, who worked alongside Dean during his career, dismissed the stories as untrue.

“I worked with Mike loads at times, they’re not true stories,” Scott told talkSPORT.

Scott suggested the comments were designed to entertain rather than accurately describe what happened inside Premier League matches.

“It’s kind of the audio equivalent of clickbait isn’t it, to try and get people interested and laughing,” he said.

“It’s palpable nonsense.”

Scott was careful to acknowledge Dean’s reputation as an official, describing him as an “outstanding ref”, but argued that comments made by retired referees can have consequences for those still working in the profession.

“It makes it so much harder when retired referees either bash their former colleagues for the sake of it,” he said.

Scott added that criticism of refereeing is fair, but insisted it should come with “context” and “empathy”.

He then issued a direct challenge to his former colleague.

“I challenge Mike and say, ‘Okay, would you stand in front of the current refs and repeat all of those things?’”

Scott concluded: “And of course he wouldn’t, because they’re not true.”

Mark Halsey ‘astounded’ by Dean’s revelation

Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey was equally surprised by Dean’s comments.

“All my years as a professional referee, I have to say I’ve never heard of these games. Never,” Halsey told BBC Sport.

Halsey said he had never considered turning refereeing into a personal challenge during a match, stressing the enormous responsibility placed on officials.

“And I have to say that I have never, ever thought about playing any sort of game, going out to referee,” he said.

“Because they’re massive games, you’ve got the fans, you’ve got the players, you’ve got the managers, the delegates, the coaches.”

Halsey said he was therefore “astounded” by Dean’s account and argued that, if such games did take place, the circumstances surrounding them deserved clarification.

“If Mike has played these games, then he’s done that on his own accord,” Halsey said.

“And if he has, then I think we need to know what games he’s done them in? How many games he’s done them in?”

He warned that the claims could go beyond simply raising eyebrows over Dean’s individual behaviour.

“And it brings into question the integrity of every official.”

Dean retired from refereeing in 2022 after a career spanning 22 years and 553 top-flight matches. He subsequently worked as a VAR official for another year before leaving that role in 2023.

His latest revelations have now placed his own recollections under intense scrutiny, with two former Premier League colleagues publicly disputing his version of events and questioning the wider implications of what he claimed.