An anecdote that seemed destined to remain among laughs and locker room memories ended up raising questions in English football. Mike Dean, one of the most recognized referees in the Premier League, revealed some particular challenges he undertook with his assistants during matches and his statements sparked criticism.
The former referee, who officiated for 22 seasons in the top English division and retired at the end of the 2021-2022 season, shared the situation during his appearance on the podcast Having a Party, hosted by forward Jamie Vardy. There, he explained that he maintained a sort of informal competition with the assistant referees to see how long they could let the game continue without calling fouls.
"We played with the assistant referees, just to have a laugh. We would say: 'Okay, let's see how long we can go without blowing the whistle'. I did it a couple of times in the Premier, before VAR, obviously. We went between 20 and 25 minutes without blowing the whistle... We just let it go, go, go", Dean recounted.
The 58-year-old former referee also detailed another of those challenges, which involved staying in the center circle for as long as possible. "I would stay in the center circle, to see how long I could remain there before having to leave. The guys (his assistants) would tell me from the sidelines 'you can't do that' and I would say 'I'm going to try'. Once I managed to stay for about 15 minutes in a match without leaving there", he shared.
